Today Was One of Those Days
by DarthButtercup
Summary: Jacob had been promised he would imprint, and now he has. Ally is hardly what he expected. As they struggle to be completely honest with each other about their abilities, life must go on. And, for a certain chieftain, that life does not include them.
1. Chapter 1

Today was one of those days when I was very glad that I didn't have a boyfriend

_**A/N: It's M because Ally likes to mention sex. No graphics, I promise. Please tell me if it's any good. I feel like it's lacking something.**_

Today is one of those days when I am very glad that I don't have a boyfriend. Yes, Allyson Hunsacher doesn't want a boyfriend. My logic is usually that boys are stupid, but that wasn't the case today. I don't know whether I decided not to have premarital sex because it was breaking the seventh commandment, or because I didn't want to disappoint my Mormon parents by breaking a commandment. But either way, it's easier to keep the seventh commandment if you don't have someone to break it with. I was speeding down a two-lane highway trying to think about the properties of integrals instead of rose petals and silk.

I had accompanied my family down to the Oregon border before visiting my best friend in Bellevue. Her brother had asked me to drop off some flowers at his girlfriend's house up somewhere near Forks. Being the sucker I am, I agreed. I'd already been through half the state, another hour wouldn't hurt. And I had dropped them off, no big deal. The problem was that I didn't know how to get back to civilization, and it was going to take me forever to get back to Spokane. That's when my tire popped. I carefully pulled over. "Fuck." I whispered under my breath. I had decided to go get a spare that weekend. On top of that, I was in a skirt and flats. At least I always carry hiking boots in my trunk. Pulling out a map, I figured that La Push was maybe a mile up the road. Not too far to walk. I walked around my ancient Saturn and opened the trunk. When I turned around to sit on the bumper, there was a huge guy at least a foot taller than I standing behind me. He was seriously huge. He was also shirtless. If I had been a little more cynical of a mood, I would have thought he was going to molest me. Instead I blurted, "This is hell."

He laughed at me. "Why do you say that?" I blushed crimson.

"Nothing," I told him. But under my breath I whispered, "Only the devil would send a hot shirtless guy to help me on a day like this." I returned to my normal tone, "Hi. I'm Ally. Would you happen to know the way to La Push?" I knew exactly where I was, just not how to get home.

The boy's eyes seemed to brighten. "I'm Jacob." He shook my hand. "I live in La Push. Need a tire change?"

Great. Jacob is hot _and_ nice. Maybe I should just go live as a hermit. "I need a tire too." I told him.

I swear his grin got even bigger. "I have a few tires you could choose from. Come on, I could give you one." That was when I noticed his feet were bare. Surely the buzzing at the back of my mind couldn't be about him? I shook the thought out of my head. For now, I would enjoy Jacob's company.

By the time we got to his house, we were talking like best friends. People tend to take a liking to me rather quickly, but nothing like this. Jacob's eyes _sparkled_ every time he looked at me. Normal? I think not. He'd just had his nineteenth birthday. My eighteenth had been earlier this summer, more like late spring. We were both planning on heading to the University of Washington in fall. He said he'd gotten a scholarship.

When we got to Jake's house, there were a few other huge boys out front. Jacob waved to them, saying, "Hey, I need to fix Ally's car. Be right back." Jacob grabbed my hand and led me around back, to the garage. I blushed again at the contact. My parents would have freaked if they had been there. Jacob threw a tire exactly like mine into the trunk of his tiny VW Rabbit, and gestured for me to get in. I knew I shouldn't trust some man I had just met enough to get in a car with him, but Jacob seemed different. I had a feeling he wouldn't let me get hurt. We were back to my car in two tiny minutes, a huge contrast to the time it had taken to walk. Jacob stayed and helped me change my tire. He seemed reluctant to let me leave. "Hey, call me sometime if you wanna hang out." Jacob sounded nervous as he handed me the paper.

"That sounds good," I replied, smiling. This guy really was nice.

Jacob's hand caught mine as I turned to climb into my car. "Call me when you get home safely."

I smiled again. It didn't feel creepy to have a guy I just met worried about me. It felt as if we had known each other for years. "I will."

With his directions, I made it to the freeway and to Spokane in far less time than I thought it would. It felt like no time at all. Yes, I would definitely be calling Jacob.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Poor little Ally, so naïve.**_

I spent most of the next month at Jacob's house. We spent a lot of time in his garage. I loved watching him work on cars. He's still teasing me over tripping on the springs. At least I regained my balance. I stayed over for dinner a lot too. Billy Black was nice and complacent, and loved having me there. It probably had something to do with the fact that I cooked real food for them. That's the problem with single guys.

The week before school started, I was only able to see Jacob once. I was busy getting my course books, but Wednesday I went to his house. He smiled as soon as he saw me, but I could tell that there was something troubling him. We went down to First Beach. Jake wouldn't talk much. I told him about the antics of my family's new litter of puppies. I trailed off and glanced back to where Jake was standing in the sand. He was trembling. "Are you okay?" I asked him

"Ally, please go home," he entreated me tenderly.

"Why?" I asked, walking over to him. "Is something wrong?"

"You need to go," he said desperately.

I answered automatically, "No!"

Jacob took my face in his massive hands. They were still shaking. "Please, Ally." He sounded pained. I stood there for a moment. Assessing his meaning. I finally paid attention to the itch in my brain that had been bugging me all day. It was beginning to threaten a headache.

My mouth dropped open. This was something bad, then. But how did Jacob know? "Okay," I whispered, then turned and ran. I needed to talk to Kathy now. I had barely buckled my seatbelt when I heard a howl on the wind.

I stopped by Kathy's house on the way home. I've been sensitive for almost five years now. I'd met her chaperoning a field trip the fall after I turned fourteen. I'd been getting the headaches for a while by then. She'd professed to be a Wiccan, but it wasn't until a month after my fifteenth birthday, when I'd come to school crying over what I thought had been a hallucination, that Kathy told me she was actually a hedgewitch. I'd seen my first troll. Kathy taught me how to ground, how to tell things to go away. I taught myself how to keep them away. Kathy and I had a long history, and she was the only one I could go to in times like this.

I knocked on her door, and she welcomed me in. Kathy was going back to the University of Washington as well. I stop by her house every once in a while for a tarot reading, or to take her dinner. Kathy had an interesting style of reading cards, and she never charged me for it. Normally, the first thing Kathy would do would be to shake her head and ask me if I was a witch yet. Apparently, I'm supposed to be a very strong one. Today, however, she took one look at my face and asked, "What happened?"

"I felt something." It would take more explanation, but it was hard to put into words. "I was with a boy today, and he asked me to go home. That's when I noticed it. It wasn't _hostile_, rather volatile. Like it would rip me apart given half a reason."

"And your friend?" Kathy prompted me.

"I've never felt serious energies around him before. He doesn't feel like a witch or a sensitive. Jake kinda buzzes, but so do other people."

"But he knew?" I nodded. "Do you think I could meet him?"

"He's going to UW."

"Perfect," Kathy smiled. "Let's do a reading for you on Monday then, darling." I didn't stay much longer. Unlike my family, Kathy was always struggling for money. It helped that her daughter was out of the house, but I didn't want to add a few dollars more to her food bill. I promised to meet her in the UW cafeteria.

It wasn't until the next day that I realized that I had forgotten to tell Jake my schedule. Saturday brought me at least seven fairies, and there were more on Sunday. I finally resorted to my old, crude methods of getting them to stay away. Monday, I had my mp3 player charged and full of the happiest, most singable songs I had. If there wasn't any room in my brain for them to intrude, they couldn't. When I got out of my first class of the day, I was the first one out, headphones going into my ears as soon as I crossed the threshold. I was walking towards the cafeteria for my two-hour break when I saw Kathy. She was only fifty feet away, so I decided that getting her attention was feasible. I had just started to call her name when I ran into a wall. A very warm wall. I looked up from where I had fallen on my back. I had run into Jacob, and he hadn't even budged an inch.

"Hey, Ally, are you okay?" He looked down at me in concern.

"I'm fine, Jake. OW!" My left leg crumpled beneath me, and Jacob caught me in his arms. My, he was warm. He practically radiated heat. "It's okay. I just re-sprained my ankle, that's all." I suddenly had a vision of Jacob carrying me heroically in his arms. He'd probably do it, too. So I took control of the situation before he could. "Do you mind if I lean on you on my way to the cafeteria?"

It was a pointless question. I just said it to be polite before using him as a crutch. He was so nice to me, anyway. We slowly made our way to the cafeteria. When we got there, I saw that Kathy had taken a table near the back. "Hey babe, what's wrong?" She asked, seeing my limp.

"I fell."

"You still want me to read for you?" she asked, concerned. I saw Jacob's features contort into puzzlement. I sat down across from Kathy, and Jacob sat next to me.

"Of course." I snorted. Jacob finally realized what was going on when Kathy handed me the cards to shuffle. I smiled at him. "Do you believe in magic?"

"Yes." He said bluntly. It surprised me.

"I do too. And the cards are fun." I handed the shuffled deck back to Kathy, who wordlessly laid down my first three cards.

"Wow." She whispered.

"What?" I twisted my head a little to see. Death, Blossoming, and True Love. I'd gotten that combination before. After three years of readings, I'd learned to not take the cards literally.

"Honey, you've met someone. And you're either in love or will be soon." I saw Jacob glance at me while Kathy put down the next three cards. "You're getting married before next semester." My neck started to itch, but I ignored it. Why hadn't Kathy seen this before? She had read my cards so often, and something like this was hard to miss. I frowned and looked out the window. There were a couple crows on a tree, and it made me faintly irritated.

"Thanks, Kathy." I smiled at her. Love . . . that's huge. I excused myself to the bathroom. Who could I have met so recently that would love me? I had always felt that no one could be physically attracted to me. I had really nice, dark red-brown hair, and eyes to match it. My face was good-looking, but I was overweight. Not obese, but I was chubby enough that I would look in the mirror and understand why no one made advances. Not even the novelty of a slight tan in this dismally cloudy place let any boy look past the extra pounds.

Apparently, I'd found someone vastly different. And we were in love.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I know, I know. It's only chapter three. No, it's not too early in the development.**_

When I got back to the table, I noticed that Kathy had read Jacob's cards. His first card was the same: Death, then Undying Love and True Love. Kathy seemed perturbed, but smiled as soon as she saw me, and picked up the cards. The itch in my brain came back. Jacob looked ecstatic. "So, how many kids is he going to have?" I joked

"We only saw the first one," Kathy laughed.

I blinked. It was our joke because that was something she rarely saw. "Well then, I'm happy for you Jake." I smiled. The itch grew, as did the pit in my belly. "Kathy, do you feel that?"

"What?"

"The energies!" I exclaimed desperately.

"Faintly. Are you sure you're not a witch yet, because they should bug me more."

"I haven't done anything magical yet, Kathy." I turned back and saw that Jake was shaking a little. "Jake, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Listen, I better go. Be careful with that ankle of yours." Jacob stood and left. Maybe he's sick. That would explain the temperature, and the shaking. But why was he at school then?

Once he was gone, Kathy put her hand over mine. "Ally." I looked over at her. "You need to be careful. There's something amuck, and you and Jacob are in the thick of it."

I nodded and looked away. I caught myself wishing Jake was still here. I felt safer with him there. Hell, who wouldn't? I wasted the rest of my two hours doodling. When I left, I had three pages of crows in my notebook. For some reason, I had them on the brain.

My next class was a Calculus IV class. I sat down in the front row, off to the side, a little more than ten minutes early. I was soon joined by a delicate-looking Native American girl. She was small, and her bones looked oddly fragile, like a bird's. "Hey, I'm, Clarissa." She smiled at me. Like I've said before, people tend to take a liking to me. "But please don't call me that. Call me Claire, Reese, anything but Clarissa."

"I'm Ally. It's nice to meet you." It turned out that Claire was ridiculously outgoing. I had a new friend by the end of class. When the professor came in, I opened my notebook. Claire let out a slight gasp at my crow drawings. I ignored it, as I _was_ known for being horrible at drawing everything except human physiology. The crows were probably my best non-person work in a few years, and they looked almost like black blobs with beaks.

Claire insisted on walking me back to the cafeteria. I was still limping a little, having forgotten to bring my bandages. I had no idea how she might be of assistance to me, she was so frail-looking that I was probably twice her weight. We were talking about music as we made our way out the door. She had noticed the headphones dangling a little out of my sweatshirt pocket.

I was glad to see Jacob waiting for me at the end of the hall. Even so, I felt a twitch of pain at taking my pretty new friend over there to meet him. But I'd learned long ago to deal with it. "Jake!" I waved at him before turning back to Claire. "Claire, this is Jacob Black." She was staring at Jake in what could only be fear, or horror. "Claire, what's wrong?"

Claire plastered a fake smile onto her face. It reminded me of one I'd seen before. "Nothing. I have to go, Ally, see you later." And she ran off.

I looked over at Jake. He was staring at Claire's back with a confused look on his face. I limped over to him, a smile slowly spreading across my face. "Hey, handsome. You feeling better?"

Jacob seemed pleased with my greeting. "Being called handsome by a beautiful woman always makes me feel better," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"You are a shameless flirt." But I leaned against him anyway. "You seemed ill earlier. Should you be at school?" Jake was still too warm. It felt nice.

Jake laughed. "I'm fine. It was no problem at all. I'm more worried about you. You're still limping."

I snorted. "It's a minor sprain, that's all. I sprained it once when I was fourteen, and I've kept on re-spraining it ever since. No biggie."

Jake moved his arm, turning around to face me. He took my shoulders in his huge hands. "You should take more care of yourself." He said it almost jokingly. There was something in his eyes, something that frightened me. I pulled back as if shocked.

"I should probably go back to my apartment and," my breath hitched, "study. I sh-should probably go now." As it was Monday, I only had the two classes. Jacob leaned down a bit, and I backed away. "I-I'll see you tomorrow?" I stuttered.

Then I did something I had learned to do long ago. I turned and ran.

Over the next week, I totally forgot about the reading. I wrote about it in my journal when I got to the apartment (I hardly called it home yet) and fixed myself up with some diet hot chocolate. I know, it sounds horrible. I sat down with my chemistry book, but my heart wasn't into studying. I knew most of it, anyway. What was that look in Jacob's eye? And why had it frightened me? It hadn't been hostile . . . oh no. Far from hostile.

I was very surprised when, next Monday, I still had next to no homework. Instead, I was helping Jacob and Kathy with their math homework. Kathy threw me a few looks before I realized why. Jacob and I were constantly touching, like physically starved teens. Earlier, I had been holding his hand while I looked over Kathy's problems. Now he had his hand on my knee and was smiling as I furiously erased all of his calculations. I was ranting about how horrible he was with math. Jake just laughed. "What do you need all those math classes for, anyway?"

I blushed, pausing my fervent erasing. "I want to teach high-school Chemistry and Biology, and it's only a couple math classes more to minor in Math and be able to teach that too."

Jacob smiled tenderly at me and squeezed my knee. "Both Forks and La Push need new science teachers. The La Push chem and bio teachers are ancient. The Forks bio teacher has a reputation as a pervert. He had a crush on Be – one of his students. Luckily, he's smart enough not to do anything."

"That's horrible!" I exclaimed. "That's almost as bad as your lack of algebraic skills." I said, poking fun at Jacob.

"Alge-what?" he asked, joking right back. Jake's hand slipped up my leg a little and I felt a shock go through my body.

Kathy suddenly stood up and announced that she was going to go buy her lunch. I looked up at her, confused until she gave me a wink. Oh. Stupid fairies probably went looking through my notebook and told her. I had been having dreams about Jacob for a while, and I'd doodled him a lot, mostly in the getup I'd first met him in. Kathy had probably taken the information the wrong way. I hadn't drawn Jacob because I liked him. However, I was glad she had taken it wrong, because I did kinda like him. I put my hand on top of his.

"Ally."

"Jake." We said at the same time. I laughed, "You go first, dude."

"How 'bout going to dinner?" I just stared at him, stunned. "Maybe . . . a picnic?"

I tried to contain my laughter. "That would be great, Jake, just great."

"What's so funny?" He whined.

I leaned into his shoulder. "I was just about to ask you out." I smiled up at him.

Jake smiled back. "I'm glad we're in agreement, then." He bent forward and captured my lips with his own.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: I was asking my baby brother what Jake and Ally should do on their date, and his answer was, "They should be gushy, like on Zelda TP." I laughed. He then asked me how old they were, and having been told said, "They shouldn't kiss then." I told him that they had already kissed and he said, "Well, they shouldn't kiss again until they're 20." I got a scandalized look from him when I told him they'd be getting married before they were twenty, and married people kiss.**_

When I got to my math class, Claire seemed agitated. She was even more nervous when I excitedly told her about my date with Jacob. I'd only been on a few sparse dates before, and they had all been the year I was sixteen. Claire smiled absently and attempted to call my attention to one of our homework problems. However, she didn't mention it to the professor at all.

Claire's relations with Jacob hadn't gotten any better in the last week. I had the distinct feeling that she was scared of him, but Jake said he hadn't ever seen her before. Jake is a horrid liar, so I knew he was telling the truth. I had started to make Jake wait for me in the cafeteria so I could get to know Claire better. Today we were making our way down the hall when I heard from behind us, "Clarissa."

Claire jumped and stopped immediately. We turned around, and she lowered her eyes to look at the floor. "Father," she whispered. I looked up at the man. He was also frail looking, which was a rather perturbing look for a full-grown man. There were a couple of teenage boys behind him, sporting the same bird-like bones. I looked from Claire to her dad and started to dislike him immediately. I didn't like it when girls were afraid of their own parents. Usually the parents were all right, and it was just culture. But I still didn't like it. Especially with my brain itching the way it was.

I whispered quietly in Claire's ear. "If something is wrong, tuck your hair behind your ear." I looked up and smiled at her father while she did nothing. I whispered a little louder this time, just loud enough that her dad might hear me. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I turned to the boys. "Pleasure to meet you." I attempted to sound civilized.

I watched Claire leave with her father. They was just about to round the corner when Claire tucked her hair behind her ear. I nearly had an apoplexy. Jacob was waiting fretfully for me in the cafeteria. "Where were you?" he exclaimed the moment I sat down.

"Not now. I'll be right back." I dropped my backpack on the chair next to him and ran off to the bathroom. Jake was furious when I got back. "Claire's father came to get her from class. We got held up. I don't like that man." Jake opened his mouth to argue with me, and I kissed him. "Now, uh, I believe we both have a date to go get ready for."

"But I'm not picking you up until seven," Jacob groaned. "I'd rather be kissing you for as long as you'll let me. It doesn't take four and a half hours to get ready."

I snorted. "Maybe not for a _boy_. Come on. Women are notorious for taking forever to get ready." Jake gave me a look. "I need to do wash the dishes before I go anywhere." I leaned into him. "But I'll give you fifteen minutes."

I'd never had a make-out session before. It was difficult, but I managed to pull away after my phone's fifteen-minute alarm went off. It was harder to convince Jacob that I really did need to leave. He walked me to my car, and then I drove to my apartment.

I hadn't been lying. There was a huge pile of dishes stacked up in the sink. I unloaded the dishwasher, got the dirty dishes in, and showered by six. I put on my nice jeans, and a thick sweatshirt. It was autumn, and it would be a bit cold outside. I applied a little makeup and spent maybe ten minutes agonizing over my hair. I ran a comb through it and decided to go start the dishwasher while I figured it out.

I started to sing, as I am prone to do. "_I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you. The look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. Though I know it's true . . ." _I was interrupted by a knock on the door. I froze in embarrassment.

Like I had thought, it was Jacob. He was early. "Once upon a dream?" He laughed.

"I like ballads." I replied defensively. My hair fell into my face, and I reached up to brush it away, but Jacob's hand beat me there. He brushed back the hair and cupped my face. I leaned into his hand.

"I like your hair down." He said huskily.

"It gets in the way." I said absently, staring up at him.

He leaned down, and I stood on my tiptoes. "It isn't in the way now." He whispered against my lips.

Before we could get carried away, I pulled back and smiled coyly. "I need to grab a few things. Then we can go." I went to the pantry and had Jake get a big blue bottle from the top shelf. He asked if it was liquor, and I laughingly shook my head. I grabbed a small rock from the bedroom and slipped it into my pocket. "Now I'm ready."

We walked leisurely down the stairs. I noticed two coolers in the back of Jake's car and slipped the bottle back there with them. I berated myself over how agonizing I found the situation. Jake was right there, and I couldn't touch him because it would distract him from driving. He took us to a really nice, quiet park. I tried to be macho and carry one of the coolers, but he grabbed it from me. So I took the picnic blanket and my blue bottle instead.

"Where do you want to set up?" Jake asked.

I paused, thinking. "How about that tree over there?" It was a big tree, by itself in the middle of the park. When we got over there, I set down the things I was carrying and put my hand on the tree's trunk. After a bit, I smiled. I picked up the blue bottle and uncorked it. Jake looked at me like I was mad when I started pouring the liquid on the ground ten feet from the tree. The grass glistened silver where the drops had landed. "I'd rather not have our date interrupted by fairies." I told him. Jake set up the blanket while I finished the circle. I'd barely finished corking the bottle when Jake pulled me into his lap and lavished me with kisses. I threw my arms around him and pulled him even closer. His temperature hadn't dropped in the week since school started.

For once, Jacob was the first to break the kiss. I pouted. "Come on," he said laughingly. "Food first." I sighed theatrically.

"Okay." Jake opened one of the coolers, and some wonderful smells wafted out. I looked inside and realized that he had lined the bottom of the cooler with hot brick. Inside were hot dogs and fries. I ate half of a hot dog and a few fries, and Jacob ate the rest. My stomach, if not my gut, had shrunken from all the diets I've tried. After Jake's ninth hot dog, I attacked him: instigating another make-out session.

We both pulled back when we heard a loud thunk. "What was that?" I exclaimed. Jacob pointed out at a crow that had landed, on it's back, just outside of the circle. "That's odd." I whispered.

"What?"

"The circle is only supposed to keep out magical things. That crow obviously isn't normal." Jacob sighed, pulling me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder. "This is the strangest place I've ever been."

I must have fallen asleep there against Jake's shoulder, because the next thing I remember was him attempting to get me out of his car without bumping my head. I groaned in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry Jake." I jumped out of the car, not able to look him in the face. I was rather surprised when he picked me up and put his forehead against mine, smiling.

"You must have been exhausted." He laughed.

"I was up at four this morning." I explained, blushing.

"Bad dreams?" he asked, curious.

"Not bad dreams. Say, do you mind if I sketch you tomorrow?" I fought a yawn.

Jacob pressed his lips against mine tenderly. "I would love you to, Ally."


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Wow. This chapter is longer than usual. That's okay. I think we might be getting somewhere plotwise. I might actually finish this thing with a decent number of chapters . . .**_

I didn't sleep well that night either. But it wasn't sweet dreams about Jacob. My dreams were plagued with crows, leering from the trees as I tried to explain something. I couldn't sleep much past five. I decided to get up and study for my biology lab. I had barely pulled the book out of my backpack when there was a knock on the door. Wondering who the hell would be up at this ungodly hour, beside myself, I walked over to the door and opened it.

It was Claire. "Oh, Ally. My brother is missing," she sobbed out.

It took a while to calm Claire down. She was still hiccupping from the tears when I started making us breakfast at six. She'd been mumbling the whole time, but I'd given her a mug of hot chocolate, and when Claire finally calmed down enough to take little sips of it she stopped talking.

I set one of my world-famous scrambles in front of her and sat down with a much smaller plate of my own. "Claire. Tell me what happened."

Claire took a few deep breaths and leaned forward. "It's all the chief's fault. I think he's crazy. He's got all the men and boys doing things, and they're all a lot meaner. Even Daddy. When Gavin left last night, it was on the Chieftain's orders. I only know half of what's going on, but now Gavin's gone and I'm afraid for you, Ally. I was talking to Daddy about you, and the Chieftain overheard, and I think they came to pick me up because of you."

I sat there, dumbstruck. "Claire, it's okay. I can take care of myse" Claire cut me off.

"Ally, I wish I could tell you what was going on. I only know the half of it. And if I even told you that much, I would get in such terrible trouble." Claire inhaled and gulped. "I don't suppose you saw a crow on your date last night."

I furrowed my brow, wondering how she had known. "Yeah, I did."

Claire looked at me, astounded. "Where?"

"The park down by the beach, the one with that lonely oak."

Claire sighed, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Ally. Thank you."

I watched her run out the door, breakfast uneaten. There were crows all over the place. Why would she be asking about them? Boy, this was odd. I finished my breakfast and re-packed my backpack. When I got downstairs, Jacob was waiting for me with his car.

I saw the tired look on his face, and immediately jumped up to give him a kiss. He just smiled. "You are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning."

"Unlike ninety-nine point nine percent of the world, I'm a morning person. You, however, seem to need a pick-me-up."

"No no no, I'm here to pick _you_ up." Jake said, using a play on my words.

I giggled. "Your pick-me-up first. Then we can go to school." I reached up and pulled his head down low enough for me to kiss. Jacob moaned into my mouth and pulled me closer. I'd never understood how having your tongue entwined with someone else's could be pleasurable. I still don't know how can be, but it is. Maybe the brain just knows to release endorphins and other feel-good hormones when you're locking lips.

We broke apart a couple minutes later. I leaned against Jake's chest, looking up at him. "Now you can do the picking me up part," I chirped. Jake laughed, and I felt the vibrations through his chest.

I almost screamed when Jacob complied and moved one of his arms down to my knees, picking me up and cradling me against his chest. "What was your apartment number again?" Jacob asked jokingly.

"Jake, you know what I meant. We need to get to school." I nuzzled his neck. "Let's go." Jacob sighed and put me down.

When we got to school, I gave Jacob a little peck and ran to Biology. I didn't have any friends in the class, and I certainly had no problem with that. I'm always picking up shallow, loose friends that I would never see after the end of the semester. Quite frankly, the fewer of those I found, the better. From there it was straight to my English class. I didn't much like anyone in there. They were all political junkies.

Jake met me outside of English, like he had ever since the first day. Aware of the people passing by in the hall, I didn't let him give me more than a peck. I detest public displays of affection, and – as enjoyable as kissing is – I wasn't about to be hypocritical.

Instead, Jacob wrapped an arm around my shoulder and we walked to the cafeteria. Kathy had a smug look on her face when we walked in. "How was your date last night?" She said, smiling.

"How many fairies do you have working for you? And is spying on us the best thing you have to do with your time." I mock-glared at her. "It was delightful."

Jacob laughed, sitting down and pulling me into his lap. "Yes it was," he affirmed, before burying his nose into my neck. I tried to squirm into my own spot, but Jacob put his arms firmly around my waist. I wasn't going anywhere.

I sighed, trying not to move or make noise whenever Jacob hit a sensitive spot. "Kathy, I'm sure your spies told you everything." I let out a small whimper. "Jake. Please stop. We're in public."

"So."

"It's _public_. Do you know how disgusting it is to see people making out? I like being able to complain about it without becoming a hypocrite."

Just then, Claire came rushing over to our table. "Ally, Ally. They found my brother. He was out cold for hours, but he's all right now. He's just got a couple burns." That's when she noticed my position. "I'll, uh, see you later Ally." Claire ran off again.

I tried to use Claire for leverage in my case. "See, Jake, everyone can see us. And it makes people uncomfortable."

"By now they should be used to people making out in the corridor." Jacob reasoned. Kathy nodded.

I sighed. "Jake," I didn't know what to say that would convince him. I felt horrible either way. I would either be hurting my sensibilities, or I would be hurting Jacob.

I leaned back against his shoulder, not sure what to do. Jacob whispered into my ear. "I'm sorry for upsetting you." He loosened his grip on my waist. I moved into my own seat and scooted close to him, resting my head on his shoulder again. "Now, didn't you want to sketch me?" Jacob asked, putting his arm around my shoulders and rubbing circles on my arms.

I was feeling a little apathetic, but I knew drawing would make me feel better. "Let's go out on the grounds. Having you just sitting at the cafeteria table is boring." I got up and Jake followed my example, taking both of our backpacks. Fifteen minutes later, I found a good tree for him to lean against and I started to draw him.

I finished sketch with a few minutes to spare before I had to go to math. I smiled and beckoned Jacob over to where I was sitting on the grass. He took my notebook from me and smiled at the sketch. "It's good." He said, smiling at the notebook.

I smiled silently. Too late, I noticed that he was about to flip back a page. It was covered with much smaller sketches of him, from my dreams. They weren't quite as good. He flipped another page, and there was more of him, as well as the crows from last Monday. Jacob looked up, his brow furrowed. I wouldn't look at him. "Ally," he said, taking one of my hands in his. "I would love you even if you were the freaky stalker from hell. Do you want to tell me about it?"

I looked up. His words shocked me, reminding me of the reading last Monday. I stared into his eyes, and they confirmed his words. That is what had scared me so on the first day of school. He _did _love me. I inhaled deeply, and pushed that aside. "I've been having dreams. About you."

Jacob cocked his head. "What kinds of dreams?"

"Just . . . dreams. No sex dreams, if that's what you're asking. I drew you from the dreams."

"And that is why you wanted to draw me today." Jacob reasoned out.

"Dreams get foggy. That's why these sketches are so bad. I needed a good reference to draw from."

Jacob smiled, "That's all? You can have as many reference portraits as you need. And, as I seem shirtless in most of these, that's the first thing we have to remedy. Now, my freaky stalker girl from hell, there doesn't seem to be anybody in sight. May I . . ."

"Who said you had to ask permission?" I whispered and leaned in. I kissed Jacob gently.

"You were upset," he said when we pulled apart. "I should have listened the first time."

"It's okay." I said, leaving off the '_No one ever does.'_ Instead, I pulled him into another gentle kiss. We both groaned when my alarm for math went off. "I have to go." I whispered into his lips.

Jacob pulled me closer, bringing us both to our feet as he stood up. "I'll walk you there."


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Sorry it's been so long. So now this fic is seriously non-canon. I'll be finishing it, just to satisfy my OCD. But I do like what happened in Breaking Dawn way better than whatever I may write. And, ya, I know this one is short. I haven't been updating because I was at camp.  
**_

Claire was so excited when Jacob and I met her outside math that she didn't even seem frightened of him. For once, Jacob and I weren't touching each other. Claire jumped at me and gave me a hug. "Oh, I do wish I could tell you." She said. "I'm so happy that we found him."

She jabbered along until class started, and she practically skipped on our way out. Claire didn't stop smiling until there was a voice behind us. "Clarissa." It was female this time. "Is this your friend?" We turned to see a nice woman in her early forties.

"Mama!" Claire exclaimed. "Yes, this is Ally." I smiled and inclined my head.

"Hmm. Very good. Let's go, Clarissa." I have to admit, I was a little miffed that her mom was so distant, but I was more excited to go to the cafeteria and see Jacob. I waved them goodbye and started skipping myself.

All of my earlier moroseness was forgotten. Claire's happiness seemed to be contagious. Jacob met me at the cafeteria entrance with a big bear hug. I giggled, throwing my arms around him too. Jake practically carried me over to the table. He set me down with a peck on the forehead, and then sat down next to me. I heard some girls being snipey a few tables over, but I ignored it. After my mood swing earlier, I was determined to be happy.

I pulled out my notebook and started sketching a heart with wings. Jacob leaned closer to watch. I surprised him when I began talking. "Do you have homework to do?"

Jacob shook his head. "I finished this week's homework after I dropped you off last night."

I laughed quietly. "That's why you were so tired this morning. Well, then. It's my turn to host our date. You up to coming over to my apartment for dinner?"

Jacob took my left hand and kissed it. "I would love to." The way he said it set my heart racing. It didn't frighten me, as before, but it was rather odd. "What are we going to do until dinnertime?"

I looked up at him, a smile on my face. "I had a few ideas."

We started at the park. I had always loved swings, and Jacob decided he liked pushing me on the swing. But I quickly decided that this was boring; and my other ideas just as. Jacob was probably just being polite when he pretended to have fun. I threw myself off of the swing, and in an amazing feat of dexterity, Jacob ran around and caught me. He looked scared for a second, before I kissed the living daylights out of him. When we finally broke for air, I kissed his nose. "Shall we do a few more sketches now?"

Jacob tossed me into the air before kissing me again. "Let's."

My apartment looked immaculate, as I liked it to be. Jacob set our backpacks down just inside the door before shaking the water out of his hair. It had started raining on our way back. "I'm going to start dinner. Then it can be on hand whenever you're hungry." I pulled out a huge blue pot and filled it with water. Fifteen minutes later, I had pasta in a chicken and cream sauce.

Jacob had settled himself down at my small round table. He was looking at my walls, which I had covered with a few of my better sketches, interesting knickknacks, and charts that I had drawn for my reference. I brought out a pitcher of water and a couple of glasses. I gave Jacob a little peck on the forehead before sitting down. I pulled my sketchbook out of a drawer, and a few pencils with it. I set it down on the table, and propped my elbows up on top of it.

Jacob's attention turned to me. We stared at each other for a little bit before he woke me from my reverie. "I thought the point of the sketches was so you didn't have to memorize every little detail of my face."

"Of course." I laughed. I picked up my sketching tools and moved to the couch, where I could sit more comfortably. Jake started to strip off his shirt. I blushed and buried my forehead into my knees.

Jacob laughed. Crouching in front of me, he lifted my head. "Does a little bare skin bother you?"

I laughed. "No." And I was honest. It wasn't the skin. It was the thoughts the skin brought to me. I pushed them away, as I always had. I leaned forward and gave Jake a little kiss. "How about you go lean against the bookcase." I worked on that portrait for almost an hour, trying to make it perfect. I was working on the shadows on Jacob's biceps, and when I looked up, he was gone. I felt his hot breath on my neck.

"It's perfect," he whispered. I raised my eyebrow at him. "Fine, I'm just tired of standing in one place, and I'm horribly hungry. But it is good."

I smiled at the reluctant retraction of his compliment. "Well, then. Let's eat." I just handed him the howl giant bowl of pasta, knowing her could eat the whole thing easily.

However, Jake protested. "You need to eat too." He said tenderly.

"I'm not hungry." I wasn't lying. After so long, I was almost never hungry. At least, not for food.

"Please eat a little." Jake decided to plead with me, despite what had happened earlier. "Everyone needs food."

I sighed, trying to decide whether I was slightly hungry, or slightly sick. The sensations felt the same to me. "I'll eat three bites." And if I threw up, it would be his fault. I grabbed a fork from my drying rack and leaned forward to snag a bite. Jacob frowned when I picked the tiniest noodle. I had barely inserted my second 'bite' when Jacob took me by the waist and sat me down in his lap. I swallowed quickly, anticipating his kiss. When it came, it wasn't the gentle, yet passionate one I was used to. Most of the time it was as if he were afraid of breaking me. I didn't notice him stand up, still holding me. However, I felt it when my back came up against the wall. I pulled Jake closer, arching against him. He grunted, and a part of my mind started flaring the warning signals. I'd never felt such heat in our kisses. Jacob, as always, seemed to have a high fever. It wasn't that. It was the way our mouths moved together. It was the way one of his hands slipped down my back to my thigh, inviting me to wrap my legs around his waist. I didn't hesitate as I ought to. Another warning flag shot up, reminding me not to let this go too far. I knew, when our hips started grinding together, that it had. I needed to stop it now. Pulling away, I whispered in Jacob's ear, "I thought you were hungry."

Jake murmured his assent. I sighed, knowing I would have to ask outright if I wanted this to stop. "Jake, this is going a little too far. We're alone in an apartment. It'd be too easy to make a mistake."

Jake smiled and set me down. "Okay," he whispered in my ear, retreating slowly. "Will you at least eat?"

"I'm not hungry." I replied. "But you are. You should eat." I thought about things while Jacob ate. He knew I was staring at him. I could tell by the way he held himself. There was no way Jake was human. The way he fell in true love so fast. The way he was so protective of me, and did whatever I wished. Jacob was almost finished when I spoke. "You really did mean it when you said you loved me," I stated.

Jake nodded, his mouth full. I continued. "You've loved me ever since that first day we met. Don't answer. I know you're not normal." Jake opened his mouth to interrupt me, but I shook my head. "I don't want to know yet. You were going to wait a week or so, solidify our relationship, before telling me." I don't know where I was getting this information from, but it was very prominent in my mind, and I was positive it was right. "I want you to wait until you think I'm ready. But I also want you to know that I'm not clueless."

Jacob swallowed. "If you've picked up on it, you're ready. I probably should have told you before. Friday, after school, I'll take you to La Push and tell you everything. I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: I'm not writing out the legends. Go look them up in Eclipse if you're interested. I love this chapter, because Ally is so clueless about some things. Oh, and I really do hate to say this, but I really appreciate reviews. They make me happy.  
**_

Jacob didn't stay long after promising to tell me what he was. I got a couple more kissed in before he headed out the door. As I cleaned up, I contemplated what kind of mess I'd gotten myself in.

Wednesday was strange, to say the least. I only had Math, but I arrived two hours early. I usually came an hour early anyway, to spend time with Jake and Kathy, but I was in an exceptionally good mood, and I had gotten an idea early that morning.

When it was time to meet Jake in the cafeteria, there was no sign of Kathy. I slammed down a piece of paper before sitting across from Jacob. "Did you know," I whispered venomously, "that only two girls out of a hundred and thirty-nine think werewolves are hotter than vampires. Look." I waved the paper at him, showing Jake the vampire side, covered in tally marks, and the werewolf side with it's lonely two. "I'm in a frickin' minority!"

Jake, recovering from his dumbstruck look, smirked. "I prefer werewolves."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't count. You're a guy. But I must say, werewolves get horrible publicity compared to vampires. Really, though, have you seen Van Helsing? The werewolves were totally hotter than the vampires." Jake laughed, sending me a look that seemed to resonate within my core, reminding me of our heated make-out session the night before. Damn it all. That seventh commandment was just getting less and less appealing.

"I'm glad you think so, Ally. Now, would you mind coming and sitting over here so I can give you a good afternoon kiss?" I moved to where he had indicated, my lips meeting his for a chaste kiss.

Claire was freaking out when I got to Math. She wouldn't say anything, but I heard her mutter something about 'chieftain' and 'boyfriend'. I think it was something along the lines of our conversation yesterday morning. Her chieftain didn't like me. That much was plainly obvious.

Her mother came to get her again after class. Just before she left, she told me, "Watch for the crows."

The rest of the days went quickly. Jake and I didn't go on any more 'dates', but we hung out a little more than usual. There weren't any more make-out sessions, and I found myself missing them quite severely. Friday, Jake waited for me outside Math. He had picked me up that morning so that we would only have to worry about his car. We walked to the Rabbit, his arm around my shoulders. He went ahead of me on the passenger side to open the door for me. I stopped him with a whispered, "Jake?"

He looked at me and took in my expression. I was quickly enveloped in a hug. "Jake," I mumbled into his chest. I looked up at him, my expression serious. "Before we go anywhere, I want you to kiss me." Jacob leaned down, tenderly kissing me. I pulled at his lip, begging him to make it as heated as our kiss on Tuesday. He obliged me, but only shortly.

"I love you, Ally," he said as he pulled away.

The words almost got stuck in my throat. "I love you too." There. I had admitted it. I was pretty sure Jacob loved me more, because he had some supernatural power behind it, but I had told him the truth. He made me happy, delirious with joy.

He smiled sadly. "Not as much as I love you."

I sighed, "I don't think it's possible for anyone else to love anyone as much as you love me."

The smile turned into a grin. "You got that right." Jacob exclaimed.

I fell asleep on the way to La Push. Jacob gently woke me just outside of his house. "After I show you something, we'll go to a bonfire party where most of the explaining will take place. Come on." I followed Jacob into the woods. I raised my brows questioningly when Jacob took his shirt off. My hands went up in front of my eyes as his hands went to his waistband. Jacob noticed. "Ally, you need to watch this. I'll turn around if that helps."

I nodded, but still only lowered my hands enough to see his torso. Jake made sure I could see, and then his skin began to writhe. I took a slight intake of breath as he exploded into a huge wolf. The wolf, Jacob, turned to me. My jaw had dropped, as had my hands. Jake saw this and moved a little closer, whining. My mind was in hyper drive, connecting the dots. It made sense now. A lot of sense. I smiled widely and threw my arms around wolf Jacob's neck. "You're a handsome wolf." He nosed me, withdrawing so that he could change back into a human. I turned away so he could dress.

"It makes it so much easier that you believe in magic. Most of the others imprinted within the tribe, so they knew the legends." He appeared by my side. "So, you ready to go find out the why and how?" Jake smiled at me.

"Yup."

Jake wrapped his arm around my shoulders, keeping the chill of the night away as we walked from the woods up to the top of the cliff. His dad was already there. It seemed like half the village was already there. There was a huge bonfire, and they had a lot of hot dogs, chips, and soda. Jacob went around the circle, showing me people and telling me their names. A few of the boys had girls with them, varying in age from about five to twenty-five, and they watched the girls with the same intensity that I had noticed in Jacob. If I thought seeing it in Jacob had been scary, seeing about ten other boys doing the same was eerie.

Like me, the other girls didn't eat much. Unlike Jacob, the rest of the werewolves (I could tell the ones with girlfriends were werewolves. They buzzed.) didn't bother them about it. Persistent bastard. Jake didn't either, actually, after I stopped him mid-sentence with a glare. I didn't need the embarrassment. Jake went around the circle, naming them all for me.

After the boys finished eating, and making crude jokes, the myths started. I was held in thrall through every single one. As the night ended, a small bit of information clicked into place. There were real vampires too. And, though I don't know how I knew it, they were still in the vicinity, at a truce with the werewolves. My head hurt from staying up so late as I walked back down the hill with Jacob and Billy. Billy used the wheelchair to his advantage and raced down. Jake had both arms around me, keeping me warm.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in his bed. At least, I assume it was his bed. I mentally cursed. I'd probably fallen asleep while we were walking back to his house. I was tucked in nicely, and only my shoes and socks had been removed. Of course, I felt his heat at my back, and his arms around me, but I liked it. First of all, I'm one of those girls who would and could happily live in Arizona without air conditioning. Heat felt goooooood. Secondly, it was nice to know I was wanted. Even with the brief explanation last night about imprinting, it was much more reassuring the way Jake held me.

Judging by the light, it was about seven in the morning. With a sigh, I decided to go back to sleep. I was woken up again at around nine when Jacob decided to get up. He noticed I was awake almost immediately. "I'm sorry." He whispered, looking guilty.

I snorted. "You don't need to be. I bounced (Literally. I'm a very happy morning person.) out of bed and hugged Jake, resting my ear against his chest. "I should be apologizing for falling asleep while we were walking. And I should thank you," I punctuated the words with a kiss. I had been about to continue, but the words got lost and I just kept on kissing Jake.

There was a snicker from somewhere outside his door, and Jacob pulled away to yell, "Shut up, Paul!" before bringing me back into the heated kiss.

I was the one who pulled away next. "It being nine." _Seventeen. _Something whispered. "Seventeen, we should probably get out there. Besides, I'm hungry for once." I wondered what the voice had been for a moment before pushing the question to the back of my brain. I'd think about it later. I hadn't lied when I told Jake I was hungry. I was feeling ravenous.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: When they're talking about three years ago, that would be my story 'Vampires Don't Eat Chocolate'. Reading it is not necessary to understand this story, but it **_**is**_** my most popular. Remember, three years is a loose description. I took a four hour nap yesterday and still slept my usual nighttime hours. I was pretty darn exhausted.  
**_

Paul was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Jacob joined him as I decided to make waffles. I paused in thought. If only I could remember Grandma's really awesome recipe . . . Wait. I could. That was really strange. I always needed the cookbook for it, and here it was popping into my head. I shrugged, happy that my brain was malfunctioning in a nice way for once.

I began a futile search for eggs, muttering about single male eating habits before I remembered that the boys were werewolves, and probably heard me. Oops. I finally found the eggs. I quickly got bored looking for the rest of the ingredients. My mind needed much more stimulation. Proof of that came when I whispered, under my breath. "Wonder Twin powers activated. Form of: an orangutan." There was a snort of laughter from Paul.

"And I thought you were lame, Jake." I could tell he didn't mean the insult. He was just goading Jacob. I whirled around in time to see Jake leap at Paul, and was smart enough to know this wasn't good-natured wrestling.

"Stop it!" I snapped. Two gold barriers appeared out of nowhere, sending Paul and Jacob flying apart. I paused, my thoughts catching up to what had just happened. I stared in horror, realizing what I had just done.

I ran. I had just gotten out the back door when I realized that I had forgotten my shoes. But I had to get away. I had to think. I winced when a few rocks dug into my feet. I didn't even reach the tree line before Jacob caught up with me. He pulled me into an embrace, and I didn't even try to fight back. My eyes were wide and my breath fast as tried desperately to think straight.

"Ally?" Jake sounded worried. I looked up at him, tears collecting in my un-blinking eyes.

"I . . . I shielded." I whispered.

"Is that a bad thing?" Jake asked.

"N-no." I blinked.

Jake smiled, and held me close, trying to comfort me. "Well, no furniture got broken, which is unusual when me and Paul fight." It didn't help. After a little while, I calmed down. Jacob sensed this and loosened his hold on me. "Why don't we go finish cooking that breakfast?"

I followed Jake back in. We found Paul back on the couch. When he saw me, a huge smile crossed his face. "Dude, that was awesome! I haven't seen anything like that since those three witches came into town three years ago, and they didn't do nothin' flashy."

I nodded, his words not penetrating. All that information coming readily to my mind earlier had probably been the magic, trying to be helpful. Or maybe I now had a fairy escort that didn't want to show itself. Either way, there was no getting around the only explanation. I was a witch.

I made the waffles on auto pilot. It took maybe half an hour before I realized what Paul had said. Three witches, three years ago. That was around when I had three witches show up on my doorstep and hand me the keys to a house in Forks, saying that I'd need it. That was the first time I'd seen a _real_ fairy. What Kathy called fairies were actually pixies.

I pondered over my two waffles, watching Jacob down the other seven. "Jake, these witches." I said to get his attention. "Was one of them really tiny, with curly blonde hair?"

Jacob nodded. "She smelled like lime instead of honey, too." I raised my eyebrows. "You see, all of the other witches smelled like humans with overtones of honey, and a little individuality. Brie just smelled of fresh air and lime."

Even the name matched. "Do I smell like honey?"

"Now you do. You didn't before." I thought about that.

"Jake, what happened three years ago?" A long and eventful tale of events later, I was glad I'd been in Spokane at the time. "And they just threw a barbecue party in the end? _After meeting dragons?_"

"Well, it seemed like they knew the dragons personally. And the barbecue was fun. Though, I do wonder who the house went to. No one has been occupying it, and it's starting to get to the time they said someone would."

I didn't tell him that I had the key. It didn't feel like either the time or the place. I didn't ask myself when it would be a good time. I didn't need anyone to think I was crazy as I argued with myself. "Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to do some repair work in the shop?" He hadn't, but making out with Paul right there was not an option, and Jake got even sexier when he had grease on his fingers.

Jake thought about it and said, "Not that I remember, but now that you mention it, I do."

Paul let out a bark of laughter. "Don't be naughty." I let out my second snort for the day. There was only so naughty I was willing to be. I watched Jake putter around fixing things for about half an hour. I know because the magic told me the time if I thought about it. After that, it took one glance from Jake to make me pull him to his feet and kiss him firmly on the lips. A thought slipped through my mind, saying that I seemed to be getting rather needy. I didn't care. Maybe I did need to feel physically loved. I liked how it felt. And Jake certainly didn't mind.

Jake started backing me up, and I felt behind me for the wall. I was shocked when I instead ran into the sheet-covered vehicle that was always near the back wall. The sheet slid a little when I stepped on it, and I let out a gasp of appreciation at what my hand found. It was a motorcycle handle.

Jacob and I were still kissing, but I didn't want to accidentally knock over his bike, so I carefully maneuvered over to where Jake could push me into the wall, which he did promptly. It felt really good. My hands found their way to his short hair. I couldn't get a grip on it, but it felt good in my hands. We ended up in much the same position as Tuesday. Our hips ground into each other, and this time I made no attempt to stop it. After a while, we wound down until we were just kissing. We slowly pulled apart, both happy.

I rested my head lazily against Jake's chest, bringing the motorcycle back into view. "Dude, you didn't tell me you had a motorcycle." There was a hint of vehicle envy in my voice.

Jake smiled. "I don't use it much anymore. You want to go for a ride?"

An evil grin crossed my face. "Yes please."


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: I had a dream where I was hugging Jacob, and hugging him more, and hugging him more, and then I lent him bus fare. Bella had been attacked by a serial killer vampire and that was why she had changed, but Jacob couldn't smell the vampire part of her. It annoyed the heck out of me, who had seen that her eyes were bright red. Finally he realized she was a vampire, but didn't care. I liked the part where I hugged him, and sat next to him on the bus. :D Oh, and I'm making this as book-four compatible as I can without Nessie.**_

The cool air felt wonderful, as did Jacob's overly warm back. I had the only helmet, as Jacob assured me he didn't need one. Even if we crashed, I'd probably accidentally shield us both. I clung to Jake's waist as we zoomed down an old back road. I got the hang of it quickly, leaning with Jacob on the turns. It was thrilling.

I wobbled a bit when I got off. Jacob laughed and picked me up, twirling me around. I giggled, holding him close when he set me down. I could just hold him, forever and ever. It felt so good to stand there in his arms. My stomach growled. Damn, of all the times for me to be hungry. And I'd only eaten a couple of hours ago. I was suddenly very confused. I'd eaten two waffles; I shouldn't have been hungry until at least noon.

From the deep chuckle resonating in his chest, I surmised that Jacob had heard my rebellious tummy. "Hungry?" Jake asked, amused. I ignored his question, instead reaching up and pulling him into a kiss. This kiss was very different. It was gentle and slow. It was a kiss of love more than passion. We pulled apart slowly, and I rested my head contentedly against Jacob's chest. My stomach growled again. Jake leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Let's not keep the empty fuel tank waiting."

I groaned. I detested eating. I had been overweight for so long that eating almost seemed like a sin. But I was so _very_ hungry, and double chocolate chocolate chip cookies sounded wonderful. I paused in thought. I was craving sweets, but having never enjoyed any candy except chocolate, my brain had resorted to other foods. Why the hell would my body be asking for more calories?

I slid my hips against Jacob's and smiled. "Okay. You better have lots of baking chocolate, or we'll be stopping by the store." My body was asking for the two things I most resented giving it: food and sex. The first urge I would give in to, but I needed desperately to find a way to control my libido. If I kept acting the way I was, my virginity would be out the window in no time, something I wasn't ready for.

Luckily enough, Jake had both unsweetened and semi-sweet baking chocolate in his cupboards. I had made this recipe so many times that I barely needed the magic's help to remember it. I slid the first couple dozen into his oven, and Jacob, who had been assisting me, came up behind me and slid his hands around my waist. I put my hands over his and leaned back against Jacob's chest.

What I needed to say, I couldn't out loud. It had been hard enough that first time. Hoping to God that I was a witch with telepathic tendencies, I tried to think loudly. The first time, it obviously didn't get through. I had had time to think while we were on the motorcycle and baking cookies. I _really_ loved Jacob. He had an unfair advantage in that field, with the imprinting, but it made me love him all the more. It had scared me, because I hadn't believed in love at first sight. I hadn't even believed that love could really take hold that fast. But I knew what crushes were like, I knew what infatuation was like, and I sure as hell knew what lust felt like, and this wasn't any of those. Well, there was a lot of lust thrown into the mix, but it wasn't the predominant emotion. Sighing and closing my eyes, I thought, '**I love you.**'

I felt Jacob's grip on my waist tighten a little, and I knew that he had heard. I smiled contentedly and leaned into him even more, and in a little whisper just above my ear, I heard, "I love you too."

That was when the timer decided to go off. Lovely. It was either break the moment or let the cookies burn, and my body made the decision for me. I was at the oven in a breath, grabbing a convenient dishtowel to remove the cookie sheet with. Five more cookie sheets later, we were out of cookie dough. I had eaten at least a cup of it, while Jacob watched in amusement.

I threw all of the cookies onto a huge platter, and walked over to the couch. Paul had left while we were out on the motorcycle, so there was not fight over couch space. Jacob sat down in a corner and tossed his legs over the rest of the couch. I plopped down in between them, resting my back against his chest again. With the September chill everywhere, the heat felt nice. I ate most of the hundred and forty-four cookies, even with Jake helping. His sister, Rachel, came in and smiled at us, stealing a cookie before heading back out. She had been with Paul at the bonfire, so I assumed that was why Paul had been at the house earlier.

We had finished the cookies when I heard a howl. Jacob stiffened. "Ally, I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can."

I protested. "I left last time this happened, but I can take care of myself now. I want to go with you."

Jacob shook his head in despair. "Too dangerous. Please stay here." He quickly extracted himself from his position and bounded out the door. I got up and ran after him, but I was just a witch, no match for werewolf speed. I saw him loping off in his wolf form. I grunted in frustration, lowering my gaze to the dirt. And the dirt talked to me.

I listened, nodding. When it finished explaining, I grinned, and whispered assent. Suddenly I was in the ground, moving faster than anyone on foot could. I listened with both my ears and my mind, trying to figure out where to get out. It was a lot easier to listen with my mind than it was to speak. I heard something and slowed down, coming to a halt near voices. I heard something about bloodsuckers, vampires. I heard Jacob ask about a Bella person. Someone, I think the Alpha, said no. I listened carefully as the werewolves were dispatched. Jacob was supposed to go back to his house because the vampires would be dealt with easily, and they could all tell he thought I would follow them. I wanted to go watch the werewolf/vampire interaction, but with Jake going back to the house, I knew I would get in trouble for doing so. I sighed, and let the earth carry me back to Jake's house, knowing I would get there a few minutes before he did. Surprisingly, I didn't have much dirt on me after traveling through it. I thanked the earth before brushing off my jeans and going to sit on the back porch.

Jacob came running up, still in wolf form, and I waved. He nodded and went into the forest to change and put his pants back on. He came back out and sat next to me on the steps. "You didn't follow me." He said appreciatively.

Hearing the happy tone in his voice, I knew I couldn't tell him the truth. "It wasn't like I had a choice." I told him. "Maybe in the future, I'll know how to use my magic to travel, and then you'll have to worry."

Jacob cupped his hand around my cheek, and I leaned into it. "Hopefully you'll have learned enough about werewolves to stay behind when that happens."


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Umm . . . yeah. This is the chapter I planned and rated this story M for. No description. I swear.**_

I stayed at Jacob's house Saturday night too. We cuddled in his bed, and I slept like a rock. We drove back to my apartment Sunday morning. Jake admitted to me that he had an on-campus apartment. The scholarship paid for it, apparently. My parents were paying for mine. I suddenly panicked when I realized my parents were going to call about church. I'd skipped it, having instead been in the car with Jacob. Jake and I hesitantly parted our ways, and I headed up the stairs to my apartment. My parents called, and I lied. Thankfully, they always called my cell-phone, so they didn't know that I had been in La Push since Friday afternoon. They would have flipped out if they had known I had slept in the same bed as, if not with, Jacob.

After my parents called, I checked my messages and found one from Kathy. It had been an invitation to the crystal and magic shop. Her recorded voice told me that she'd stop by my apartment at three yesterday to see if I wanted to come. I decided I should talk to her at school before Jake got there.

Over the course of that Sunday, I also learned that I was going to stay just as hungry as I had been at Jacob's. I put extra salad and soy chips on my grocery list, figuring that I would eat chicken Caesar salad and soy chips as often as I needed to rather than start eating badly.

The next day, I got to school in time for Kathy's first break. It was during my first class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I usually didn't come this early on other days. I greeted Kathy with a wave before sitting with her at a cafeteria table. "Hey, hun." She said. "I stopped by your apartment of Saturday, and you weren't there."

I sighed, "I was at Jake's until Sunday morning." Kathy's gasp interrupted me. "Don't give me that," I said exasperated. "You wouldn't be the one who cared if we had sex, which we did not." Kathy smiled and nodded. "Anyway, I have a bigger problem."

Kathy frowned, "What is it?"

"Saturday I . . ." There was a squawk and a large crow tapped on the glass of the window next to us. I nearly jumped out of my seat, remembering the advice Claire had given me on Friday. I glared at it before leaning closer to Kathy and whispering, "I manifested magic."

Kathy's jaw dropped, "What?"

"Well, at first it talked to me, telling me the time when I wondered it and whatnot, but then Jake almost got into a wrestling match with his friend, and I shielded. And later, I traveled through the earth."

Kathy's expression became more and more alarmed. "Well, I'm glad you're a witch now, but you need to be careful. Don't use magic lightly. And we need to find you a good mentor, because I've never met a witch powerful enough to travel, but I've heard stories. I don't even know who to talk to about it."

"I do." I whispered. "Don't worry about it."

With that, we stood up to leave for our next classes. Kathy glanced at me and asked, "Did you grow over the weekend?"

I snorted, "Don't be ridi-heck, I did." I was a couple inches taller than I had been last time I checked. I'd known when I'd gotten dressed that I'd lost an inch in my waist, but I hadn't noticed the extra height. "I'm average height now, yes!"

When Jake met me outside my class later, it was indeed easier to reach up and kiss him. Not much, but the extra two inches helped. Claire wasn't in Math that day. I was a little freaked out, especially when I'd seen that crow earlier. After Math, I took Jake to the aquarium. I hadn't been in ages, and all of the fish soothed my nerves. My favorite part was always being able to touch the rays. They were so beautiful.

After the aquarium, Jake and I went back to my apartment where we ate, and cuddled on the couch. I nearly fell asleep several times, but I managed to stay conscious until Jake left, barely getting to the door to say goodbye.

I knew that Tuesday wasn't a good day the moment I woke up. I'd had a sex dream about Jacob, and I _ached_ to be touched. I ground my teeth in frustration, and went through everything I could think of to make it stop. I took a cold shower, and I tried to think cold thoughts. It didn't work. Ten minutes into biology, I started drawing and didn't stop until English ended. All I could think about was how I'd been told and imagined sex should feel. Yeah, that didn't help much. I sighed in relief when Jacob wasn't waiting for me outside of the classroom. I don't know what I would have done. I probably would have ignored the hormones and gone and eaten lunch and been very incredibly frustrated. Yes, that's probably what would have happened.

Instead, I walked to the cafeteria feeling kinda high. Jake wasn't there either, so I assumed he was running late. I pulled out my notebook, and began to draw once again. Kathy had told me yesterday that she was going to be in Auburn, so I expected Jake would be the only one I sat with. When he entered the cafeteria, I slid my notebook away, and managed to behave the whole time.

Math wasn't quite as easy. I walked in, and Claire was there. I smiled and said hello, having difficulty sitting still. She told me she'd been sick on Monday, and I sympathized with her. The professor started the class a couple minutes early, freeing me from conversation, and allowing me to continue my sketching. By now, I'd drawn four or five nudes, one of them Jacob. I started sketching the profile of a girl, and put it away hastily when the class was over. Claire and I walked to the cafeteria, slipping into the bathroom together. This was our usual schedule that had been messed up since her father showed up last week. Refreshed, and still very horny, I went into the cafeteria. Jake was in line buying food, so I took our usual table near the back window. Unable to resist completing my drawing, I pulled out my notebook again, and started filling in the details.

Jake sat down and I gave him a nod of acknowledgement. He play-frowned at me. "What, no good afternoon kiss?" he joked.

I hesitated. Oh, crap. "No!" I sounded a little too horrified for him to think I was messing with him.

"Are you okay?" When I nodded, Jacob took my notebook from me, and my horrified eyes watched him flip through the last few pages. He smiled at the drawing and showed me a page. "Is that me?"

"Yeah." I whispered.

"We didn't do a reference for that one," he laughed. "So, what's with the nudes?"

I didn't know what to do, what to say. Finally, I choked out, "I'm. Fucking. Horny."

If anything, Jake's smile grew. "You know, we could go to my apartment and . . ."

"No!" This time I sounded even more horrified. My head slumped down to rest on my arms, and I whispered. "Please, God, no."

Jacob whispered in my ear, "Ally." His hot breath sent a shiver of excitement down my spine.

I didn't even get my protest out. My mouth wouldn't form words. I jumped away, unable to look Jake in the eyes, as I hurriedly slid my notebook and pencil into my backpack. I stood up, just to be pulled into Jacob's lap. His mouth found mine, and I was in momentary bliss before I remembered that I should probably be pretending I was a turtle right now. Some part of my conscience was sending the call for retreat. Blushing bright red, and murmuring, "Sorry," I grabbed my backpack and ran to my car. If Jacob had wanted to, he could have caught up with me right there. Instead, he followed me in his Rabbit to my apartment building. While I was attempting to undo my seatbelt with frustration, he walked from his car to mine, and I barely got out in time to meet him at the hood.

He took me in his arms and hugged me close. "Ally, it's okay." I looked up at him, my body and heart at war with my mind. My mind lost. I pulled his head down forcefully, kissing him with every ounce of my strength. He grunted in pleasure, and I wrapped my legs around his hips as he carried me up the stairs to my apartment. I knew my virginity wasn't going to last until sunset, but I didn't care. Today was one of those days.


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: And . . . this would be the other chapter the story is rated M for. Like I say, it's not too bad. But if you do have extremely sensitive sensibilities, I would skip to the last two paragraphs.**_

That night was . . . wonderful. I woke up in the morning only a little sore from using muscles I never had before. My wonderful personal heater wasn't next to me, but I could hear him in the kitchen. For a moment, I lay there with a calm mind, and wondered if I should be panicking. Deciding negatively, I went searching for the spot of blood on the sheets I was told would prove that Jake had taken my virginity. I blushed at the thought. I'd probably been bad at it. Finding the spot, I frowned. The sheets would have to soak for a while to get it out, now that it had dried in.

Finally sitting up, I looked around. I had no idea how post-sex etiquette worked. Seeing that, among the clothes on the floor, Jacob's boxers were missing, I stood to get an over-sized t-shirt from my closet. I stopped moving as I felt a trickle of liquid down my leg. I was frozen in horror until I remembered that we hadn't used a condom. Which was okay, as my doctor had proscribed the pill for menstrual difficulties. I just had to hope I wasn't in the point one percent that got pregnant. My mother was. I ran to the bathroom, taking the shirt with me. I cleaned myself up, feeling a little better with the semen off of my leg. In the mirror, I noticed the bite marks on my nipples and blushed again. I slipped the shirt over my head and went to find Jacob in the kitchen.

He was just starting to crack eggs. "You know, I don't like eggs much. How about French toast." Actually, I was really hungry. "Or meat and cheese stuffed French toast. Wait, wait. You've only cracked one. We'll use it to baste sausage rolls."

Jake smiled at me in a way that almost made me melt into a puddle on the floor. I went and pulled sausage and crescent roll dough out of the freezer, turning the oven on as I walked past it to where Jake was working. I set them down and kissed Jacob briefly before bending over to get a baking sheet. I felt Jake pinch my bottom while it was in the air, and I gasped softly.

I pulled myself upright quickly, setting the baking sheet down and throwing my arms around Jake's neck. I lifted myself up and wrapped my legs around his waist again. I could feel him reacting, so I moved my hips as little as possible. I kissed Jake on the mouth heatedly before leaning forward and whispering in his ear, "You know, sex did not help get rid of the horny." I gave a playful tug on his earlobe. "But I suggest we finish breakfast before going for another round." Jake nibbled on a sensitive part of my neck, and I arched against him. But, before we could both get too excited to wait, he stopped.

"Okay." He whispered in my ear. I murmured happily and lowered myself back to the floor. It didn't take much more than an hour to fix and back the sausage rolls, and they were good. We sat on the couch to eat, and I sat with my legs folded under me. I was halfway through my third roll when Jacob laughed and brought his mouth down on mine. When we parted, he told me, "You know, you purr kind of like a cat."

I giggled, and turned, straddling him. "It seems cats and dogs can get along." I purred, just for the reaction I knew I would get. Jake's mouth captured mine, and his hands crept up my thighs to a happy place, making me moan in pleasure. Before I realized it, we were both in the throws of pleasure again, breakfast forgotten.

We ended in a sweaty mass, me still on top of him. Jake was getting soft, and it felt funny, in a good way, because he was still inside of me. We just lied there for a bit, exhausted. When our stomachs rumbled in unison, I laughed. "I guess we should get back to breakfast."

When Jacob extracted himself, it was his turn to realize we hadn't been using protection. I sighed, calming him with a hand. I told him that I do, in fact, take contraceptive pills, and that we should be all right. We hungrily finished our now cold breakfast, and I decided that I was in great need of a shower. I told Jacob as much, adding that he should join me when he was done with the dishes.

I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I sighed, "I'm sore in places I didn't think I could be." I told myself in the mirror.

The Ally in the mirror replied, "And did you see the bite marks? I didn't expect those . . ."

Jacob peeked his head in to see me stretching. "Who are you talking to?"

I smiled. "Myself. I've talked to myself in the mirror since I was a wee little girl. Recently, it's started talking back. I think that mirrors show us an alternate universe almost identical to ours. Or mirrors could be inherently magical objects. I don't know which."

The mirror me matched every word, ending with an extra, "Hey handsome," and a wave. Jacob looked a little shocked. I gave him a little peck on the cheek before saying coyly, "So, how about that shower?"

I expected our little tryst in the shower. Hell, it was half of the point in taking the shower, the other half being to get the sweat and sex juices off of us. When we got out, I saw Jake hesitate in front of the mirror, peering at himself before going out of the bathroom to collect all his clothes and get dressed. I'd put my hair up in a bun for the shower, so I only dried off quickly before heading to my room to get dressed myself. I shivered a little before putting on my nice jeans a black blouse that had always been my favorite.

Jacob held me so that I could soak up his extra warmth. I glanced at the clock by my bed. It was already ten. It would probably be good to hurry, so that Jake could make it to his first class. I pulled the hair-tie out of my hair, and went searching for my hairbrush. I had just pulled it trough my hair twice when there was a knock on the front door. I went to answer it, Jake coming up behind my right shoulder.

It was Claire. She looked between the two of us and took note of the drops of water glistening in Jake's hair. She opened her mouth and said the last thing I expected. "YOU FINISHED THE MATING RITUAL?"


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N:Two chappies for you!**_

I retorted almost immediately, "It wasn't on purpose! The first time anyway . . ."

Claire gave a loud exasperated sigh. "That makes it even worse, it's a truer claiming than if you two had planned it all out. This is bad."

Jacob frowned. "Why?"

Claire glared at him. "Will you two please let me in so I can explain everything?"

I backed away from the door, and she slipped in. Jacob almost growled, but I smacked his arm first. "Do you want anything? A drink?" I asked her.

Claire shook her head. "No thank you." We all went and sat down and the dinner table, Jacob sitting right next to me, so close that I knew he was hovering protectively. "Ally, you do know what your boyfriend is, don't you?" I nodded. "So you do know that you are now mated to a werewolf?" I nodded again. "Well, they aren't normal werewolves. They're shape-shifters. I come from another clan of shape-shifters. We're werecrows. And, from the moment you stepped foot on campus, our chieftain decided you should be mated to my brother." Jacob did growl this time, and Claire sent him a hopeless look. "I'm really sorry, I didn't know until my family came to get me after Calculus that day. But this isn't the way it's supposed to be done. The chieftain has decided to take me for his mate, and I'm barely holding him off. I'm a werecrow too, and I would know if he was my mate. Ally, I think that Chieftain is evil, and I know that you're the only one who can do anything about him."

"Why me?"

"He wanted you to mate with our strongest warrior. There must be something about you that makes you an incredibly strong person, with or against us. Wolf, you better be able to protect her, because with you two mated, Chieftain is going to try to kill Ally." Jacob frowned. "I'm going to have to tell them, or they'll hurt me. You two better watch out, and watch the skies for crows."

With that, Claire strode out my door. Jacob growled. "She smells funny."

"I assume she smells like bird. We have to help her. If she's right, all three of us are in danger. Now, shall we drive to school?" Jake looked at me like I was crazy. "We have to pretend its life as usual. And, much as I would love to stay here with you, neither of us is missing class today."

I pulled the brush through my hair, and sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to do anything else with it today. It had settled into an almost natural wave. We were walking down the stairs, (you know, I like how I keep having to say we. It's so much better sounding than 'I') when Jake made a noise of realization and stopped, searching his pockets.

"I just remembered," he told me, "I'm supposed to give this to you."

It was a small white card envelope, blank except for a little doodle of a flower. In it was an incredibly short letter.

_Ally,_

_By now, you've realized you've love Jacob (unless he's a dope and gives this to you early). You should tell him about the house. The magic was just confuzzled when it told you not to. Don't listen to it all the time. Like I said, the brownies have been keeping the house in order, and will still tidy up and perform maintenance once you move in. I know you'll have questions about the whole werewolf/witch togetherness thing, so go ahead and call the number at the bottom of the page. Jacob should also give you an address, but you know how people lose things._

_Lots of Lurves,_

_Kalysta Brie Scott_

Below the signature was a phone number. Jacob watched me expectantly as I folded the note and put it into my pack pocket. I smiled at him. "She's one crazy witch. I'll tell you about how I know her at lunch, kay?"

We drove to school in our separate cars, and Jake went to class. I found a quiet corner in which to use my cell phone. I immediately called Brie. After half a ring, it was answered by a high pitched, almost taunting, "Hi-i." The only person who said hello like that would be Brie.

I spoke clearly into the receiver. "It's Ally Hunsacher . . ."

"Ooh, I remember you. Let's see, have you been to the house yet? It's Brie, Kira's moved to her own place, so I'll have to go get you her number if you hang on a second."

I had tried to say that, no; I haven't gone to the house, but the second she paused I interjected. "Wait, why has my metabolism changed?"

Brie seemed to pause in thought. "Ooh, yeah. Hmm . . . lets see. You need the books. Just a sec, let me look at the file. You're the only High Magus in the northwest, and all of the ones in Cali are busy. Hey, I'll come drop by tonight around four. Meet you at your apartment. Bye."

I stared into space, dazed. Okay, no plans after four. Check. I had barely put my phone back in my pocket when it started ringing again. I answered it. "Hey, Ally, how's school?"

"It's pretty easy mom."

"Oh, that's good. Shimmer's just whelped. The pups look like rats, as usual, but I was wondering if you would come over for dinner Saturday if you don't have too much homework." Dinner after a whelping meant I was making it.

I thought about it, and smiled. "Yeah, I think I can. Do you mind if I bring my boyfriend?" My mother hesitated.

"Sure. We'll expect you two around five." I hadn't told my mom I was dating. She should've expected it the second I got out of the house, but my mom was, as she tended to be, clueless.

I ran into the cafeteria just as Jake was sitting down. We kissed gently and I sat down next to him. I pulled the letter from Brie out of my backpack, along with a thick, envelope. "Jake, three years ago, a really tiny blonde witch came by my house, and she gave me this envelope. That was Kalysta Brie Scott, about a week after you guys defeated those dragons." I pulled a key out of the thick envelope. I had been carrying it in my car, just in case. "She gave me this key, and a deed with my name on it. I was not to go to the house, or tell anyone about it until the time was right. Brownies have been keeping the house in order, tending the garden, dusting, and just basic upkeep. It has furniture and everything."

Jacob's jaw dropped. "You have the house?" I nodded. "That's . . . amazing."

"I'm not sure why, but Brie is coming over to my apartment at four tonight."

Jacob said seriously, "I'll be there with you."

We looked up at Kathy, who had been watching us with a tray in her hands. "What's up?" I asked her.

"You two look . . . post-coital."

"Ugh!" I snarled. "How does everyone know?! Is this some extra sense that I don't happen to possess?"

Kathy laughed. "No, it's the way you two are acting."

I nodded, pretty sure that this did involve some extra supernatural sense. "Anyway, where was I? I'm having dinner with my parents on Saturday, and I would like you to come with me please, Jake."

He was smiling at me when I looked up from putting the envelope away. "Yeah."

I smiled back and we gave each other a quick kiss. Kathy had finished her food, and took off, saying something about going to the grocery store before her next class. I watched her run off, and the question I'd been thinking about since Claire had come by this morning pushed it's way to the front of my mind. I didn't really know how to start a conversation on the subject. I took a deep breath, and reverted to my most basic skill, being blunt. "Jacob, will you move in with me?"

He didn't say anything, and it took a lot of willpower for me not to blather on about the subject. Finally, Jake's smile deepened and he said, "Yes."

I was suddenly very happy. The details could be worked out later.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: I don't know how she does it, but Brie manages to find her way into EVERYTHING I write.**_

We moved Jake's clothes and other necessities over to my apartment directly after Math. I consolidated some of my stuff, making room for his. It was three thirty-four when the doorbell rang, and I answered it. "Yea-'ello!" Brie said. The way she blended them together made it sound like 'yellow'.

There was a two-year old with gorgeous black locks holding Brie's hand. "This is Tabitha. Sorry we're early. I forgot I was babysitting for Kira. But it's ap-nay time, so we should be okay. And if we're not, we'll find out how well that gorgeous hunk of yours works with kids. So, let's see the place."

Brie walked in, Tabitha trailing behind her. She immediately went over to the couch and sat Tabitha down. I'm pretty sure she used magic, cause that child was asleep almost instantly. Jacob was still in the bedroom, putting his clothes into my closet. Brie bounced back over to me, and smiled. "Okay, first order of business . . . physical changes that accompany use of magic. Let's go sit down at the table." She practically dragged me over there, and once we were sitting, began pulling three huge books out of her backpack. "Okay, using magic requires energy. The magic obviously provides most of that energy, but a ton of it comes from you, or more specifically, your food. You will most likely have to eat differently." Brie glanced at my body with an appraising eye. "There is a much easier way to explain this. Your boyfriend is a werewolf. Eat like he does. Four meals a day is what Odette, Kira and I practice. Hunter eats with us, and we all have about the same portions. With the extra energy needed to even be a witch of our caliber, you're probably going to lose weight, and don't be surprised if it turns itself into muscle. That's what Odette's did, and now she carries around a fifty-pound medicine bag all day.

"Second order of business, magic usage. I know you hang out with hedge-witches and whatnot, but their rules of magic do not apply to High Magi. Hedge-witches actually do have problems if they use magic more than, say, once a day. As a High Magus, you should be using magic as often as is reasonable and ethical. Use it to warm your hot chocolate, get better gas mileage, just please don't cheat. The basics to magic are in these books. Once you know the basics, you can do pretty much whatever. One of the common misconceptions about magic is that you need a trigger phrase or hand motions. Those are actually just so you don't have to think about what you're telling the magic to do. It takes a lot longer to cast a spell without them, as you'll see. So, you can keep those books. Oh, wait!" Brie smacked me on the forehead. "There's the Old Tongue. It would be cruel to make you have to learn it yourself."

I looked past Brie, trying to determine whether Jacob could hear us or not. Just to be safe, I leaned closer and whispered to her, "I'm still able to get pregnant, right?"

Brie watched me with an interesting expression. Then she went, "Oooooh, yeah. Yeah you can. You've probably been reading those books where witches are a completely different species, or where heavy use of magic makes you barren. Completely untrue. Sorry, I forget about that because I had to have my ovaries removed because of a demon wound. Which reminds me, never ever use magic as a contraceptive. Even if you aren't using it, if it decides that your child will be needed, you _will_ get pregnant, no matter how many measures you take otherwise. And if you are using it, it may decide you could use a child and _viola_, you're pregnant. So, not a good idea. What's for dinner?"

I'd never known anyone who could talk as much as Brie. She was explaining to us how Tabitha was already a werewolf, something that was the difference between her species, _Loup Garou, _and Jacob's species, _Hexenwulfen_. Apparently, Tabitha was also a witch, but she didn't know how to use the magic. I couldn't understand how she was both. That meant that, if Jake and I had a kid, he or she would probably be both as well.

I don't know how we managed to get her out of the door by six. It was just starting to get dark, and Brie suddenly insisted that she leave. I was a little glad. Just trying to keep up with her conversation left me exhausted. We had eaten chicken pot pies for dinner, and Brie had eaten three to Jake's and my two. I went and flopped wearily onto my bed. Jacob followed, lying half on top of me. I smiled, pulling him into a kiss. I don't think I'd ever be too tired for that. Or what followed.

The next morning, Jacob found me on the couch in a flannel nightgown, reading the books Brie had left me. The way magic worked sounded really weird. I had a cup of cold orange tea in front of me, and I was desperately attempting to get it to warm up. I had been trying for about half an hour, every time I turned a page. Eventually I exclaimed, "FREIM!" and the tea burst into a boil. Feeling much more competent, I kept reading until almost eight, when my tummy began rumbling. I finally noticed Jacob, leaning against the bookcase. I jumped up, setting the book down on the couch and planting a kiss firmly on Jacob's mouth. He kissed me back, and in my mind, I went searching for a spell I'd seen in the book. We came apart, and I smiled, pleased. As we made a huge breakfast, I modified the spell, and by the time we sat down at the table, I had cast it, _without_ a trigger phrase.

Jacob had his left arm around my shoulders, and I decided to tell him my conclusions. "Jake, about the werecrows." Jacob stiffened, but said nothing. "I've been thinking, but if they're smart and I'm an important commodity to them, they'd kill you first and then take me. So, I've put a little alarm system on you. If another shape shifter comes within twenty feet of you today, I'll know."

Jacob frowned, "Could I have one of those for you?"

"I sit next to Claire in Math. You'd be hearing warning bells for an hour. And that's forgetting that you're with me the rest of the time."

"Still, Ally."

I thought, and another spell sprang to mind. "How about one for if I come to harm?" Jacob nodded, and I cast that one as well. "I have a doctors appointment right after Math, so don't wait for me in the cafeteria."

I was very happy when the school part of the day went a normal. The doctor's office wasn't too far away. When I was called out of the waiting room, a nurse weighed me and took my height. Letting out a small noise of surprise, she led me to the small room where the doctor would meet me. For the first time, I realized that my doctor was a small, delicate-looking Native American woman. I usually didn't care about race at all. My favorite doctor had been an Asian-Indian mix. But, right now it was a good idea to be careful. But my doctor didn't give off a buzz, so I smiled and went about my appointment as usual.

"Have you considered physical therapy for your ankle?" I told her my decision against the therapy, and she continued. "Hmm, it looks like you've grown. And you've lost a lot of weight. Have you had any lifestyle changes?"

I shook my head. "I'm sexually active now, but nothing else." Heh, there was no way I was telling my perfectly mundane doctor I now preformed magic.

The doctor raised her eyebrows and recorded this, adding questions to her list that my sexual activity required. We went through the list, and she finally asked me if there was anything else bothering me. I said no, and my doctor smiled. "Okay, then. I just need to do a finger-prick and give you a shot."

"What kind of shot?"

"Oh, just a new thing we're giving girls when they become sexually active. Nothing abnormal. Of course, we'd like you to stay in the waiting room for ten minutes after your shot, so we can monitor you for allergic reactions."

I furrowed my brow. I hadn't heard of any such thing, but I'd do as the doctor said. The slightly luminescent milky substance in the needle looked menacing, but I took the shot with grace. After my ten minutes, I gladly left, heading for the parking lot. I couldn't wait to get back home and . . .

My train of thought was halted by the several were-crows surrounding my car. I didn't know what to do, what to think. One charged me and I shielded, sending him flying into a concrete pillar. The eldest swore, adding, "That damn girl got the dosage wrong. She's still using magic." I reached through the spells I'd absorbed today, and only one came to mind. "Friem!"

There was a shriek as the rubber soles on one of the guy's shoes melted. I couldn't think of anything else, so I closed my eyes tightly and curled my hands into fists. I heard a few gasps of shock, but I ignored them. Silently, I called. **JACOB!** I couldn't hear any answer. Desperate, I began sending little snapshots of my situation. There was a tapping noise, and I suddenly couldn't breath. It felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. I took a gasping breath and opened my eyes. There was a huge golden dome around me, and one of the werecrows had taken a staff and whacked it. I could tell because the staff was crispy. They were all staring at me. I looked down at myself; and found I was dressed in full golden plate mail. I had a huge axe clasped to a bronze belt, and my hair wasn't getting in the way. I reached up to my head and found it in a very militant French braid.

Suddenly, I smirked. Well, if the werecrows wanted a fight, they were about to get one. Jacob's Rabbit came squealing into the garage, and he leapt out of it, morphing as he sailed through the air. I growled, and the shield fell. I charged the nearest werecrow, my gauntlet smashing into his nose. I pulled my axe out and starting using the flat side to smack any of the werecrows who got in my way. I sincerely hoped I hadn't seriously hurt any of them. I finally got to my car, and called out, "Jacob, get back to the Rabbit. Let's go home!" None of the werecrows attempted to waylay us as we sped out of the parking lot and back to the safety of the crowded streets, and none were waiting at the apartment complex.


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: The nice thing about fanfics is that you can use brand names and no one can get cranky about copyright issues. And I like my music. I have a very diverse taste. If you don't agree with it, that's called a difference of opinion. Oh, and that song isn't on my favorites, just Ally's.**_

I was still decked out warrior style when I got out of my car. To my surprise, I wasn't clanking or otherwise making noises that usually accompanied armor. As my adrenaline began to fade, so did the armor. The axe, which I had thrown into the back seat, was once again in the weapon belt.

Jacob was waiting for me by the stairs. "Ally . . ." He started.

I looked up at Jacob with a horrified expression, my armor completely gone. "My doctor was working with them." I couldn't help but sound disturbed.

Jacob pulled me into a fierce hug. "I was so scared." He murmured.

"Me too," I whispered.

Two hours later I found a reference in one of the magic books relating to what had happened. It was called a Magus Manifestation, sometimes Hunter/Huntress Manifestation. It was a deeply personalized trait that only High Magi had. The magic would choose a warrior from a culture that intrigued the Magus, and the Magus would appear as that warrior, in a color scheme suited to their element. I was earth. Magi manifested at times of stress when they needed to be as closely connected to magic as possible

I had to resort to Google to find out about the liquid in the shot my doctor had given me. It was an anti-magic serum, used mainly by bounty hunters after witches. It was administered as per strength in magic, not body weight. It completely numbed the Magus's ability to use or handle magic. There were long lists of complaints because of severe allergic reactions causing comas, and even a few cases of immunity. But it was the only thing like it out there. I also found a few ads for water-proof, melt-proof, vaporization-proof, synthetic handcuffs designed to hold any magus except an air magus. The concept frightened me.

Jacob wouldn't let me out of his sight, except for when I went into the bathroom. I figured it would pass. It wasn't practical to go everywhere together. And the werecrows wouldn't be so stupid as to try another forward attack again. Just for safety's sake, I pulled out my blue bottle and filled a vial with the silver solution. Its circle would hold even if I were asleep or unconscious, unlike a shielding spell. As an afterthought, I filled another vial for Jake.

We spent a lot of time holding each other on the couch, watching meaningless television shows. For once, Jake got hungry first. I ended up burning the seashell noodles while we made out against the refrigerator. I'd never known that was possible. I ended up using my magic to bake a frozen lasagna in about two seconds.

In the middle of dinner, I got tired of the melancholy atmosphere, and went over the stereo system that anyone with half a brain would be envious of. I'd bought it even before I'd gotten the bed. I plugged in my i-pod, turning it to my favorite rock, pop, and country playlist. I blushed when the first song that played was 'Pieces of Me' by Ashlee Simpson. I was suddenly very glad that, while plenty of them explained the way Jacob made me feel, none of the songs described the situation we were in. I don't think a song ever could.

I stood slowly, and jumped a little when Jacob's arms encircled me. I turned around to face him. The kiss was slaw and gentle, as was the sex that followed. It was much more like I had imagined my first time.

I finished my lasagna for breakfast. I sped around, getting ready for school as fast as I possibly could when I passed the calendar. Seeing an entry for today, I paused.  
Crap, it was my best friend Miranda's nineteenth birthday, and she had a party from nine till midnight. "Jake." I called out. He appeared right behind me, making me jump. I pointed to the little square that indicated today.

"As long as I can keep you within sight." He whispered.

With a delighted laugh, I jumped up and threw my arms around Jake's neck. "Thank you!"

I really didn't want to risk having werecrows at my best friend's party, but I figured they wouldn't attack in a crowded place. Miranda had a reputation for big, awesome parties. She had three rules, No alcohol, drugs, or sex. And after what had happened last time someone was caught breaking the rules, people actually obeyed them. They would slip out for an hour or so, and come back satisfied.

Unfortunately, I knew I didn't have enough money for a new outfit, or even blouse. I liked looking comparably fashionable and Miranda's parties. And to be quite frank, I had lost a ton of stomach since the last time I'd been clothes shopping. I could probably pull off a few more daring things. I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and opened it, just to be sure. I was down to fifty for groceries. What I found shocked me. Two hundred and eleven, in cash. I whooped in excitement. "We're going shopping after school, Jake!" He was in the bathroom, but I was pretty sure he heard me.

I couldn't sit still at school. The unexpected money had me pumped. The second Claire saw me she started apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry, Ally. I swear I didn't know. Are you okay? They said you shielded, melted Garrett's shoes, and knocked half of them unconscious. Aunt Erica was in huge trouble, but she said she'd given you the third largest recommended dose, which should have at least impeded your use of magic. Chieftain was furious, but are you all right?"

I looked up from the magic book I'd hidden in my lap and was reading. "Oh, yeah. I'm good. I didn't severely hurt anyone, did I?" Claire shook her head. "That's good. I have a book here, and it says that shape-shifters don't have magi unless a strong witch marries in. The exception is an occasional shaman. Do you guys have any witches or shamans?"

Claire tried to get a peek at my book. "Not unless the Chieftain's one. He'd be a shaman, if so. But we don't have any magic except for the shape-shifting and the way he orders the men around."

I had gotten through all of the books except for the last half of the, for a lack of a better term, index of magical creatures. Werewolves and vampires (The spelled it Vampyr, I'm not sure why) were way at the back, but I'd already taken a look at their entries. The vampire one had been short, obviously lacking in research. Although, who would want to research _real_ vampires? Didn't sound like a good idea. The werewolf section had been interesting, however. The heading had said, "_See also Shape Shifter_", and after that were listed some five kinds of werewolves.

I bounced with joy over to the door when Math finished. I wasn't surprised to see Jake waiting for me. I knew he wouldn't be letting me out of his sight for any longer than necessary. There wasn't much I could do about that. Claire almost couldn't stand to talk to me anyway, because she felt so bad for what her clan was doing, so I didn't feel bad waving goodbye to her early.

I loved shopping with Jacob. It was fun to watch his face when I came out of the dressing room each time. I ended up with a teal shirt that cut open in the front to expose my belly button, and some really tight black boot-cut jeans. I was loving the muscle instead of fat thing, but my thigh muscles still made skinny jeans look ridiculous. When I looked in the three-sixty mirror, I figured out that I once again had an ass. I hadn't had a good-looking backside since I was twelve. And the jeans made it look great.

It was also fun to watch Jake's jaw drop when I slipped into the lingerie store to pick up a little something with the extra money. I don't like most 'sexy' lingerie, so it didn't take to long to find something that fit what I was looking for. In the end, I had just enough left to buy a fitted t-shirt, something I'd been wanting, and knowing it would look horrible. Until now. And I still had sixty for groceries, which I decided to pick up on the way home.

We were now using bulky, inexpensive foods to cover the cost of me eating almost fifteen times what I used to. Jacob was, thankfully, sharing food expenses now that we lived together. I don't think I could've afforded to pay for both of us on my allowance. It was much larger now that I was out of the house, but my parents had said no official jobs until I finished school, and they would finance me. It's the nice thing about almost-rich parents. The other nice thing was that they had pushed education so much that I'd tested out of more than half of my college classes. I would finish spring semester.

We got home and ended up watching Doctor Who. It was a re-run of the first season finale, but it always made me cry. I washed my face before we ate dinner. I hadn't cried in a while, so I knew the salt would make my face all blotchy and leave red streaks. Jacob laughed at me over dinner, poking fun at my geekiness once he was sure I was alright with it. I smiled, and laughed back.

Sometimes I realized just how in love I was. It was like magic, only way better.


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N: I'm soooo sorry it's taken me so long to update. First I was doing original work, and then school started and it was like AAARRRGH!**_

Miranda's party hadn't quite started when we arrived at eight-fifty. It was a hell of a lot of fun, and we got home around two. Considering that I didn't go to bed until that late, I was up pretty early that morning, about nine-thirty. I was ravenously hungry, having not eaten for fifteen hours. I slipped out of Jacobs arms and made my way to the kitchen, starting an old-fashioned farm breakfast like my mama had taught me. I listened to my ipod and danced while I cooked. I would have sung too, but I decided not to wake Jacob up with my scratchy voice.

It turned out that I didn't have to worry. I was intercepted mid twirl by Jacobs arms. He caught me around the waist and pulled me into a kiss. Several seconds later, I pulled away, knowing that the hashbrowns would burn without my immediate attentions. Jake refused to let me go, so I just turned within his grasp and leaned back against him while I shuffled the potatoes around. With my free hand, I yanked my earphones out. "My bro called." I told him, "We're going early to help him with his water polo technique."

"Water polo?"

"I played on a team too. He only wants to try and beat me. And with two people, three if you join us, it's less water polo and more water catch. I'm sure that between that and dinner, he'll find something you guys can do while I cook."

I refused to let Jacob drive. To be quite frank, I think he found some sort of pleasure in the experience. Once there, I led him to the front door, holding his hand. As I attempted to extract the right key, I whispered, "Jake . . . my parents are rather prudish about the whole dating thing. Please, please do not be offended by anything they say or ask." I finally found the house key, but paused to finish my plea. "Please let me be their perfect daughter." Jacob smiled and squeezed my hand. I smiled back at him, tears forming as I realized how wonderful he was, how much he loved me. I was breathless for a moment before realizing that I should open the door.

I closed the door behind Jacob, and a small dog came bouncing down the hall towards us. I bent down and picked him up. "Hey, Teddy. Did you miss me?" He gave me a few doggie kisses and then started swimming in the air, trying to get to Jacob. Looking at Jake for permission, I held Teddy out, and he began smothering Jake with kisses. I giggled and called out, "Ma, we're here."

Lewis came charging down the stairs, "Ally!" He ran up to me and gave me a bear hug. The breath whooshed out of my lungs and I told Lewis, with difficulty, to get off of me.

"Dude, will you please show Jake the pool bathroom so he can change. I need to talk to mom."

"Sure, dudette." I rolled my eyes at Lewis's failed attempt to stop me from calling him dude. I squeezed Jacob's hand before walking off towards my parents' room with Teddy at my heels.

When I knocked, my mother opened the door. "Hey, Allyson. Do you want a haircut when you finish in the pool with your brother?" Sometimes I wondered if my mother was a sensitive. She always managed to bring up exactly what I wanted to talk about. I nodded. "Go get changed."

In my room, I pondered over the lack of questions concerning Jake. I glanced through my swimsuits before finding my old team suit. The boys were waiting for my by the pool when I got downstairs, apprehensive about it's temperature. I shook my head at the sight and announced my arrival with a shouted, "CANNONBALL!" They jumped out of the path of my charge, but both got soaked from the splash. "Toss me the ball."

Lewis threw the ball at me and jumped in. Jacob followed a little more reluctantly. After about an hour I decided that I'd had enough of practice and wanted to goof off. I threw the mall at Jake, and we ended up in an intense game of 'water catch'. Lewis shrieked when I grabbed him by the shoulders and used him as a shield. Around three, I heard my mother call out, "Allyson!" I sighed and lifted myself out of the pool, waving a farewell to the boys. My mom didn't talk much as she cut my hair, only making comments on the length and evenness. I showered in the master bathroom too.

When I got out, I shook my hair out in front of the mirror. It was now my favorite length; chin-length when dry. Jacob and Lewis were playing video games when I finally got out to the family room. Even though they were racing, Lewis was totally winning. Lewis nodded and said hey as I walked into the room, but didn't take his eyes off of the television. Jake turned to see whom Lewis had acknowledged, just as I flipped my hair out of my eyes, and he went slack-jawed. Not noticing, I waved my hands in the air and squealed, "Puppy Time!" happily.

I continued into the next room, which had a mesh gate in the doorway, keeping the brood-bitches and infant in. I climbed over to go look at them. The newborn puppies were adorable, considering that they looked like hairless mice. Seriously, look up some newborn Havanese and tell me they aren't ugly for the first week. It's kinda like with baby pandas: they're ugly when they're born, but they're so cute and cuddly when they finally grow up.

I had to love every single pup before accepting my fate as meal-maker and chef. I headed back through the family room, quickly deciding on chili. I would need to recruit help for carrying all of the ingredients down from the pantry. I paused in the doorway, on my way out of the room, and asked the boys. Jacob volunteered before I had even finished the sentence. I knew that if he hadn't, Lewis would have. Lewis was the most courteous, wonderful, polite twelve-year-old boy I knew. He'd been that way his whole life, and it was really nice. I had become the overbearing older sibling just because he was so polite that people considered him a pushover.

Anyway, I led Jake upstairs, smiling happily as I opened the pantry. I didn't expect Jake to twirl me around and ram his mouth into mine in a passionate, lustful kiss. I groaned, pulling away long before I _really_ wanted to. "Not here." I whispered breathlessly. "Not now."

Jacob grudgingly nodded and let go. What we both really wanted was to continue that kiss, rip each others clothes off, and have some fun, but that's not the kind of thing you want to do at your parent's house. I handed Jake slightly over half of the cans, and grabbed the rest myself. When we had unloaded the stuff in the kitchen, Jacob went back into the living room to play with Lewis. I turned up the burner to start the pot heating, and my mom walked into the kitchen.

"Allyson," she began. I turned around and smiled at her so that she knew I was listening. "Are our sure you should be dating? You know what could happen."

The knife I was holding slipped and went forcefully through the onion I had been chopping. I knew that she would bring this up, and I'd gotten my bluntness from my mother. It had taken me years to tone down my words; become slightly more diplomatic. My mother still had trouble with it. "Mom, I'm still getting A's except in math, as usual. Besides, Jake is more respectful of my space than you are. The only young man I know that is more respectful is Lewis."

My mother's lips pressed into a thin line and she frowned. "Allyson-"

"No, mom. If I seriously asked him to just be my friend, he would stop dating me. But I don't need to, and I won't." My mom opened her mouth to interject, but I cut her off. "If he asked me to marry him, I wouldn't say no."

My mom's jaw dropped. It was exactly what I had expected, and wanted. She was speechless. There was no way she could reject my words, as she desperately wanted grandchildren. In an effort to change the subject, she whispered, "You're looking nice."

My mom was a bit cold towards Jake after that, but my dad liked him, and they talked a lot over dinner. Once Jake brought up cars, my mother warmed up to him, and in the end, today was a good day.


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N: Sorry about all the math stuff. I know most people don't like it (myself included) but both Ally and I are in Calc III(which I just Finished!), and her magic is heavily connected to math, so it has to be in there. I promise, no confusing equations, just numbers that know one should come up with off the top of their head.**_

When we got home, Jake was still ready for a night of heated passion. I think part of it was the hair, as he ran his hands through it a lot more than usual. I liked my hair too, but I thought that boys liked longer hair . . .

I had the strangest dream that night. I was in a barren desert, completely flat to my eye. A great, blue-black storm raged overheard, lightning occasionally providing more light. However, there was no rain. I rotated in place, stopping after precisely three hundred sixty four and a half degrees. There were no landmarks. Suddenly, a small pixie-like woman with dark, spiky hair stood in front of me. Her eyes were nearly black, and she didn't blink. She looked serious, but I could tell she was used to smiling. "Look." She told me gravely, turning and extending her arm away from me. (It formed an angle of about five pi over seven, give or take point zero one radians.) In the distance, I saw a woman of about twenty. Her hair was long and brown. There was a man with unkempt blond hair leaning over her prone body. Blood dribbled down his chin an he smiled maliciously. "Thy blood is so sweet, Bella dear." Bella began to fade, and behind the vampire I saw the ghosts of his other victims. The pixie woman drew my attention back to her, saying only a single word; "Remember."

I bolted upright in bed, suddenly very awake. It was fairly early in the morning, and Jacob was not next to me. I was usually the first one up in the morning, so a bunch of horrible scenarios began running through my mind. Maybe he'd gone out last night and the crows had grabbed him . . . but then the alarms in my head would have gone off. I immediately calmed down. I found Jacob in the kitchen making pancakes, and he looked like the walking dead. Seriously, it looked like he had gotten no sleep whatsoever. Jake became alert when I gave him a gentle hug, and he attempted to disguise his exhaustion. After a soft kiss, I began describing my still-vivid dream to him. Jake gasped at Bella's name, making me frown. When I called him on it, all he would say was, "There's somewhere we should go today." I know intrinsically that we were going to Forks.

"Well, we can visit the house too. Let's finish those pancakes and go."

Jacob insisted on driving. I nearly knocked him out and threw him into the backseat because he looked so tired. I was worried about him, and probably should have done so. Instead, I stimulated his adrenaline production whenever he started to nod off. Ahhh, the blessings of being an Earth Magus. I also took my i-pod with me to hook up to his stereo. It was going to be a long trip.

After a few hours of my singing (which actually isn't too bad), we made it to La Push. I knew it wasn't far to Forks, and so I started to get a bit fidgety. Finally, we came to a small, brick-red house. I pulled the key out of my pocket and shakily inserted it into the lock. Once the door was unlocked, it opened noiselessly. Jacob and I crept in, noticing that it was much warmer inside than out. Jake saw the monstrous black micro suede couch in front of a flat screen television, and happily collapsed on it. I kissed him on the forehead before continuing my explorations. There were three large bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom. There were curlers in the one that had been painted light blue, ponytail bands in one that was cream and gold, and a straightener in the black and white one. Jacob was fast asleep when I passed him to go down a hall to the east-south-east. I found a room with a bright green drum set and squealed in excitement. Suddenly, a feeling hit me. There was somewhere I needed to be, right now. I went back to the living room and shook Jacob awake. "Hey, hun. You said we were going somewhere." Jacob groaned and pulled me down onto the couch with him. Annoyed, I switched to a more authoritative tone. "Jacob Black, this is urgent. Get you ass off the couch and into the car. Jacob looked at me wide-eyed before nodding.

I made Jake navigate this time, not trusting him to be able to pay attention to the road. We went down a long drive, arriving at a very large house. Jacob, having nearly fallen asleep in the car, took much longer to get to the door than I did. The moment I rang the doorbell, he started running. I realized why when it opened and two things jumped out at me. I shielded instinctively, and they fell against it instead. I saw that the things were people. One of them was a very good-looking blonde boy who was now glaring at me. Taking it as a challenge I glared back, even though I had no idea why he was doing so in the first place. The other was a girl my age with curly red hair who looked vaguely familiar. The man growled something at me, but I didn't even notice. "Jenny?" I whispered incredulously, now staring in confusion at the red-head.

Once everyone recovered from the shock and a woman in her mid to late twenties had shown us into the living room, I demanded an explanation from Jenny. Jacob had fallen asleep immediately upon sitting, and I had gone back to glaring at the strange blonde boy. I had realized what had been bothering me since I had seen Jenny and her new friends. There was no supernatural noise around them whatsoever. Usually, even humans gave off a low hum, but all I was getting from these people was silence. I looked between Jenny and the two strangers and said quite bluntly, "You aren't human."

The pixie-like woman from my dream came running down the stairs so quickly that it proved my statement, "Getty there's something changing, and your plan isn't going to," She came to a dead stop, "Oh hello."

I was still racking my brain to figure out what they were when Jenny nodded to Alice, mentioning something about discussing it later, and turned back to me. "Ally, what are you doing here?"

My eyes grew wide. "What am _I_ doing here? You're supposed to be at _Trinity_! Dublin is a lot further from Forks than Spokane." Suddenly, it clicked in my mind. "You're vampires, aren't you?"

The sudden stiffness in the room confirmed it. "My god, Jenny, you DIED? And all I got was an email about _TRINITY?_"

"Ally, Ally, calm down," Jenny said. "I was in an accident. I was in a hurry and didn't pay enough attention to the bandsaw . . ."

My voice rose a couple of octaves. "YOU GOT KILLED BY A BANDSAW?! You idiot!" It took them a little while to calm me down. Jenny had always gotten careless on tight deadlines, and I had sworn up and down that one day she would be killed in a woodshop accident. It freaked me out how right I had been.

When my wits were together, they called the rest of the vampire family together (plus Bella from my dream) and the explained their situation to me, and Jenny's plan. Apparently this Italian Vampire Mafia that had something to do with vultures had decided that Jenny was awesome and wanted her in their little gang. So now they were preparing for battle using this ridiculous plan that Jenny had hatched. I had realized by then that all of these vampires had very strong personalities, but they toned them down under Jenny's hawk-like gaze. This was a problem because no one had ever had less strategic logic skill in the history of the earth than Jenny. My jaw dropped open and I said, "Who let you come up with the plan, Jenny? Seriously, that is stupid."

However, I got no answer, as a crow went flying past an open window and I dove to the floor. When I rolled to a crouch, I was decked out in plate mail again, my High Magus form. I muttered something through gritted teeth even as I noticed all the vampires were looking at me like I was insane. But they had no time to comment on that either because then about fifteen werecrows flew in the open window, circled above our heads, and began flying out the back door. I ran after them into the backyard, but I was much foot is much slower than wing, and I couldn't watch their progress in the ground where I could go as fast as they could.

I stomped my right foot, grinding it into the grass, even as my adrenaline faded into anger, my clothes changed again, and not back to normal. In my reading, a second High Magus form had never been mentioned, but I was now in a gold business suit, with a bronze stylus in hand. Even as I watched the last crow fly away, equations began pouring into my mind. They flowed out of my stylus and the calculations circled the air around me. Ah. I could see now where the werecrows were going, where they lived. My grimace turned into a venomous smile. "I know where you live!" I screamed at them, even though I knew they would not hear.

Jenny was about to pat me on the shoulder to see if I was all right when the doorbell rang. I was the first one to the door, and my jaw dropped when I saw it was Brie. What the heck was she doing here? "Brie? What are you doing here?" She motioned me out of the way and rolled a fifty-five gallon oil drum into the house. "What the hell is that?"

Brie gave me a condescending look. "Icing." The tone in which she said it was the equivalent of saying, 'Duh!'

Jenny seemed a little slow to understand the situation. "You have a fifty-five gallon drum of _icing_?"

Bella, from where she stood behind me, said, "Brie has a thing for icing."

Jenny snorted. "Obviously. She has fifty-five gallons of it."

"HELLO! I am standing right here! We can discuss my eating habits later. Does someone want to tell me how you guys got in trouble this time." Brie's eyes flickered around the room. "And does someone want to explain why the new vampire isn't Bella? Hells Bells, people, do I actually have to start reading the effing reports on you guys instead of just the synopsis page?"

Edward looked down, away from Brie. I tried to figure out why, but all I came up with was a blank. Jenny decided to be Miss Leader again and called us back to the family meeting, this time in the kitchen. She restated the plan; that we were going to fly up to Yellowknife, she would fly back down to grab Esme, and then when the Volturri figured out where we were, we'd fly back down with Esme and a vampire clan from Denali to Forks for the main fight.

Bella was nervously searching the cupboards for something to eat, and Brie was hovering over her shoulder looking for anything sweet. Meanwhile, Alice was telling Jenny that Yellowknife had spies in it, and suggested Yukon instead. Jenny then turned to me. I gave her a small glower and said, "You should either all stay down here to fight, and send the fastest to contact the Denali clan, or you should all go up to Canada and just stay there."

No one liked either plan. I blame Jenny's new overbearing side. Brie suggested combing the plans by all staying up in Canada, but still leaving Esme down here. I decided to keep my mouth shut. It's not like any of them would listen if I told them that invited a hostage situation. Jenny and Esme excused themselves for a quick hunt while the rest of the vampires went out to the cars. Brie and Bella had found a bag of chips and were contentedly eating them. I went back out to the living room and kicked Jake in the shin. "Dude, we just got roped into flying up to Canada. Let's go."

Jenny and Esme got back a couple minutes later. I could see that there was no way we were going to fit into one car. My jaw dropped when she said we were running to the airport. Did it look like I wanted to get a piggy-back ride from a vampire? What about Jacob? I shook my head as they took off faster than human eyes could see. Brie and I gave each other a look. "I'll see you at the airport," she said, grabbing Bella's wrist. When I next looked, they were gone, transported by the light wind.

I turned to Jacob and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I hope you aren't claustrophobic, darling." And suddenly, we were traveling through the earth.


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N: I know it's a little short, but it's a good breaking point. I have no idea how many chapters are left because I keep breaking them off at places I didn't think I would, but we're getting close to the end. Hopefully, I'll get another one up inn the next few days. It depends on how much I can write on an airplane, and whether I get internet at our condo in Hawaii.**_

Brie and I (and our passengers) got to the airport first. We didn't have to wait long for the vampires to come bursting out of the woods. Jenny pointed us towards a plane that was just being moved out of the hangar. I smiled at Jenny as she took great joy in the fact that she could fly a plane. We all boarded the plane in an orderly fashion and I suddenly regretted not bringing a book. Oh, great. I was going to have to talk to vampires. I took pity on Brie, who had no one to sit next to, and left Jacob sitting next to Carlisle, the head of the coven. Brie had taken a window seat, and I sat next to her. On my other side was Alice, the pre-cognate. As we began our ascent into the skies, Brie placed her hand on the window. Quietly, Alice asked, "Where is Arawn?"

Brie smiled. "I left him at the Palace of High Noon. I have a permanent room there, and I don't have to worry about him being in pain while he is there." Brie turned, a magical gloss over her eyes made her gaze seem piercing. "I need to be able to devote my whole attention to the situation at hand. It was the only way. Have you seen how this will turn out?"

Alice shook her head. "The Volturri haven't made any decisions yet. Arawn, however, will be just fine." Their discussion made me very glad that I did not have a boyfriend with special needs.

We finally reached flying altitude, and I made my way up to the cockpit. I needed to talk to Jenny. When I got in there, Jenny said authoritatively "You know, you shouldn't distract the pilot." A shadow passed over her face, which I thought was strange, as we were above the cloud cover.

"You have vampire senses. You can multi-task." I sat down in the co-pilot's chair and placed my hand in one of the few areas with no buttons or switches. "Besides, this plane is equipped with auto-pilot."

"You mean a GNS-480." Jenny said through gritted teeth.

I shrugged. I really couldn't tell the difference. I had just seen it in the programming and wiring. A long silence ensued, and I played with the com system wiring to hook it up externally to my i-pod. Thankfully, Jenny could not see what I was doing because I was using magic. I can only imagine what murderous rampage she might have gone on if she had known what I was doing.

It was Jenny who broke the silence first. She sighed and said, "So, you're a witch."

"Yeah, I was surprised too."

"Sooo . . ." I could see exactly what Jenny was leading up to, and laughed.

"We don't dance naked under the full moon, have black cat familiars, or twitch our noses to cast spells."

Jenny, who for some reason had been acting a lot more serious than usual, laughed. "The sun isn't deadly to me, I can cross running water, and my skin is way too hard for a wooden stake to pass through." Then she smiled. "You're looking good."

I snorted, "What with the vampire-ness, you don't look too bad either."

Jenny furrowed her brow, focusing on something. I knew it wasn't flying, because she had already switched on the autopilot. "Why do I only hear music in your head?"

I stared at Jenny in puzzlement. It was a combination of the fact that I hadn't known she could read minds and the fact that I had no idea what that meant. Once the gears clicked in my head, I answered. "Have I ever told you my life is a musical? I totally think in music and sound effects."

Jenny shook her head. "No, it's more than that. All I hear is a classic symphony, and a string of numbers and equations. No words. Well, except when you were at the door you were singing a Fall Out Boy song in your head."

I was even more puzzled now. I understood my thoughts just fine. They sounded like words to me, not numbers. Jenny let out a growl of frustration. "What the heck does 'The Riemann sum from zero to infinity of x to the two n plus one over two n plus one factorial' mean?"

"That's the value of sine at x."

"Damn, your mind is like a freaking computer!" Jenny exclaimed.

I frowned. '_Oh really?'_ I thought at her.

Jenny sighed and glared at me. "That doesn't count. You thought that on purpose. The music and math were still in the background."

I tweaked a last wire and suddenly the sounds of Avril Lavigne's Hot emanated through the com system.

_Ah, ah ah_

_You're so good to me baby, baby_

_I wanna lock you up in my closet when no one's around_

_I wanna put your hand in my pocket because you're allowed_

_I wanna drive you into the corner and kiss you without a sound_

_I wanna stay this way forever I'll say it loud_

_Now you're in, and you can't get out_

That was as far as it got before Jenny screamed at me, "ALLYSON!" The next few words came out garbled, but I was pretty sure they had been expletives. Jenny took a couple deep breaths and demanded I change the song, which I did promptly. "Now, do you want to explain what that was for?"

I shrugged. "Because I was bored and needed something to do?" The look on Jenny's face said that she didn't entirely believe me. I sighed, bringing up the other thing that was bothering me. "What are you planning to do when the Volturri take Esme hostage?" Jenny's jaw dropped and she just stared at me. I tried to keep my voice level. "You weren't prepared for a hostage situation? For the love of fairies, Jenny! I didn't like that this plan was going to end like that, but I thought that was the point of leaving Esme behind, and that you just weren't saying so to everyone else because they'd flip. I can pretty much guarantee that the dude who can see all of your thoughts from forever is going to do a motive check before she leaves."

Jenny glared at me. "Why didn't you say this sooner? I was a little busy trying to work everything out. That didn't even come to my mind." A shadow crossed her hand, and I knew that it was supernatural, because there was nothing up here.

"For one, I thought that it was a part of your plan and you had something to get her out of it. Besides, with little Miss 'I Can See The Future' saying that it looked all right, none of you were about to listen to me." We both sighed. "We can still fix this. If we get there before they re-kill Esme, either Brie or I could slip in and get her out fairly quickly. I think it's still important to go train and get that other vampire coven first, though."

Jenny's mouth was still set in a tight frown. "That would have been easier if you hadn't played that ridiculous song. Edward's been hitting on me, and now Bella is going to think that the song reflects how I feel about him."

My eyes widened in realization. "I'm sorry."

Jenny snorted. "No you're not. Just don't do that again." Something made a noise, and suddenly all her attention was on navigating the plane. "Ally, I need you to go sit back with everyone else. Would you tell them we'll be landing in about twenty minutes?"

"No prob." I slipped back out of the cockpit and went to sit down after following Jenny's instructions in my best flight attendant tone. Brie patted my shoulder absently. We both could feel trouble coming.


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N: I feel like laughing evilly. I have added stuff to the plot, so it may become a little longer than I expected. But it will be funny. I promise you. Anyway, this chapter is compatible with HelplessSoul's story A New Development. Hopefully, I can get this part done in the next chapter. And then we can go back to our original programming.  
**_

Have I ever mentioned how much I detest customs? No, of course I haven't. I probably also forgot to tell you that I spent half of the last decade in tropical foreign countries in South America and Asia. Or that I had been through airport customs ten times, and roadside customs another ten. The point is I hate customs with the passion of a million dying suns. I don't care how cliché that sounds; it's just the way it is. I hate customs more than most people hate airport security lines where they make you take off your shoes and hustle you through, barely giving you a place to put your shoes back on.

It was the reason I hadn't batted an eyelash when Jenny had said she wanted to go to Trinity. She had stayed behind in Washington as I went to place like Rio de Janeiro and Hong Kong. We had both been in the same accelerated program, though our focuses had been on nearly opposite ends of the spectrum.

Now, however much I detested customs, it was a lot funnier with Emmett, Rosalie, and Jenny standing in front of me. First Emmett would do something stupid, then Rosalie would hit him and Jenny would make a scathing comment. After a little while, I had started listening to Emmett's head to get the rest of the story. It made the situation ten times as hilarious.

I was surprised at how calm Brie was. Despite her incessant talking and a few giggle fits, she didn't get antsy about waiting in line for forty minutes. I assume it was because she had been even more places than I have. Brie had mentioned once that her father had been in the military. I was actually pretty happy, for it didn't take as long as Japanese customs, or even Chinese.

We got out of the airport and checked into a hotel at Tuktoyaktuk. It's such a fun name to say. But everyone else started to say Tuk, so Brie and I sighed and conformed. Jake got tucked away onto a bed, and most everyone went out to train in a nearby clearing. Only Jake, Bella, Edward, Brie, Jenny, and I remained. Jake and Bella had some catching up to do, and thus had closed themselves into a room to talk. I didn't mind, as neither seemed physically aware of the other. Edward took another room to make a quick phone call to the Denalis, and Jenny took the opportunity to call her boyfriend, who lived a few hours away. Brie grabbed my hand with urgency and hauled me out, past a bar called Breaking Dawn, and twenty feet into the woods at the edge of town. Brie sat down cross-legged on the ground and glared at me until I had done the same. She smiled serenely at me and said, "I can get Esme when the time comes. Her being taken hostage may not have been part of Jennifer's plan, but it was a part of mine. The Volturri are nasty bullies that grew so powerful so quickly that not even the European Guardians could do much about it. They need to realize that they are not invulnerable, even if our dealings with them do end up peaceful. Now, have you read the section in your book about Guardians?"

I nodded. "The most powerful Magus, or circle of Magi, in the region takes responsibility for all the magical creatures within, and for punishing them should they effect the mortal realms."

Brie smiled. It was the perfect textbook answer, "You're the most powerful Magus in the Pacific Northwest."

My answer echoed through the forest, scaring birds out of trees. "WHAT!"

In the air, Brie drew a fairly good image of the western half of North America. "Your area of authority spreads from mid-Oregon to just about where we are. East to west, it goes from Boise, Idaho to the ocean." Brie snuffled, "Being in your territory when dealing with any magical creature, especially one with an intent to harm, gives you an extra boost. Now, I do believe we better join those training vampires."

We trudged back to the hotel, and grabbed both Jenny and Edward. They had to wait seven hours for the Denalis to get here. They might as well train with us to use their time wisely. As we got into the clearing, we realized that the vampires were at an impasse. While Jasper could and had trained each one of them to fight fellow vampires, no one could provide the metaphysical skills that the Volturri had. It came as no surprise to me, then, when Brie volunteered us witches to play the Volturri.

Alice almost immediately complained that she could not see the future. What Carlisle said made no sense to me, but I was glad for an explanation other than not allowing her to watch Esme. "Alice, there will be werewolves there blocking at least half of the battle from your sight, and the other half may not be there either because the Volturri know how to go around your gift."

I saw Jenny's jaw lock as she realized we were blocking her gift as well. In fact, we had blocked everyone's gift, so as to give the vampires the absolute worst-case scenario. I think that was another reason Brie had wanted me. I could animate rocks for the Volturri, but I could also give them strategy beyond theirs. It was all in the math, which I was doing very well with. Brie and I also spoke in the Old Tongue, so as to better hide our moves from the vampires. We finished our first scenario a few hours later, with about an hour left for Jenny and Edward to go clean up for the Denalis.

I was on my feet, lecturing them. "That was not a good battle. This is not an epic battle between Sauron and Middle Earth. It is a skirmish. It should take no more than half an hour, and either you will crush them, or you will be crushed." I gestured over to Carlisle and Rosalie. "You even had casualties."

Jenny stood up to me, anger stamped across her features. "I think we did alright for a worst case scenario, especially since all we had was a few hours warning." As she spoke, an unnatural shadow again spread across her face and hands. Everyone gasped when I stomped my foot and reached out my hand. They were all waiting for her to rip my head off. My hand flickered over to the purely metaphysical plane, and I reached inside Jennifer's head and yanked the shadow out.

Jennifer had stood frozen the whole time, staring at me.

I turned to Brie, holding out the creature and screaming, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

Brie whispered, shocked, "It's a Naradi. An infant Naradi. They're cousins of the Star Demons. Hitler had a mature one. It feeds off of the energy of misery and despair. It will find a host able to influence a certain outcome, and enhance their bad decisions, rhetoric, persuasiveness, and appeal. Some infect the host decades before anything actually comes of it. In this case, they chose a girl capable of bringing down one to three large vampire covens. The interesting thing is that they can only enter you when you are alone emotionally around water. It has been divined that Hitler got his one night crying after his mom died. If you've ever been afraid to shower after dark when you're home alone, that was your senses telling you there was a Naradi about. Even if you weren't like 'I've never been loved.' You knew that should something happen, there was no one to help you.

"No, a Naradi cannot change your soul. Hitler would have been nasty even without his. The difference would have been that he probably wouldn't have been elected. The Naradi also have a great sense for survival. Only Earth Magi can sense them within a host, and only Air Magi can destroy them. There's a reason there weren't any German Earth Magi for three generations."

By the time Brie was finished, we were all staring at her. Brie sighed. "It's an evil shadow thing that makes people mean."

I shook the squirming shadow at her, "Would you please vanquish it then?"

Brie smiled. "Oh, sure." She enveloped it in a blue orb, and I withdrew my hand quickly. The orb exploded, sending glowing fragments across the clearing.

I turned to Jenny. "Hey, Jenny. You need to go get yourself ready for the meeting."

"That thing was in me."

"And now it's out. Go." Turning, she and Edward ran back to the hotel.

Brie looked at me. "You know, the whole persuasiveness and rhetoric thing? The  
Naradi was just improving her skills, not substituting its own. Jennifer will always be very good at debating. At least now it's not influencing her plan making."

I nodded, and we slowly traipsed back to the hotel once again.


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N: WOOHOO! I'm so pumped for the next chapter :D**_

We took our time back at the hotel. I had forced my hair behind a headband, and was pretty sure it wouldn't fall out this time. That was when Alice came in and decided to do all the girl's makeup. Jenny was probably pretty happy she missed that. A bit later, Brie made a noise in her throat and said, "Looks like Edward and Jennifer are done with their meeting." With that I felt her drop the spell that had been interfering with Alice's precognitive ability.

Alice froze, her eyes widening. Without a word, she ran out the door to meet Jenny. Brie and I stuck our heads out the window to watch her. Jenny smiled at her and said, "Well, that went pretty well. I don't know why Edward was so uptight about it."

Alice was shaking. "That doesn't matter, they have Esme!" she whispered urgently.

Jenny bit her lip. "As soon as we have the Denalis, we'll go."

Alice was dumbstruck. "But Esme . . ."

Only when Brie appeared down there did I notice she had left my side. "Esme will be fine. The Volturri know full well what they would risk by killing a vampire's mate when that vampire is the head of a very large coven. Cruel as they might be, they aren't stupid. With Esme they have a hostage for leverage. Without her, they have several desperate vampires."

"How will we get her back?" Alice asked, on the verge of tears.

Brie just smiled. "How did I get here without using any doors? Now, I'll go tell Edward and Tanya that they need to hurry. See you in a bit."

Jenny turned to Alice. "Go get the others. We're going back to the clearing to talk about this." Within minutes, we were back where the training session had taken place. Jake and I found a nice log to sit on, courtesy of Emmett flying through the air three hours previous.

Jenny rolled her bottom lip between her teeth before realizing that she had done so. It was a nervous habit of hers, but I had watched her quickly learn how to hide the physical signs when we were preteens. Even now, that skill served her well. Jenny went up to stand in front, and took a shaky breath. "The Volturri have Esme." Her statement was followed by an uproar.

"QUIET!" I roared.

Jenny sent me a grateful glance. "I have been assured that Esme will be whole when we next see her, and that Brie has a plan to free her. The only difference this makes is that we need to move now rather than later. In a moment we will leave for the house, which has been vacated, and wait there for the Denalis." Once everyone had nodded, Jenny came and pulled me off to the side. "Ally," she whispered, "do you think that you can convince the werewolves to help us. I was going to ask Bella, but you showed up with one and so . . ."

"Jake just so happens to be my boyfriend, and I doubt he'll have a problem getting the rest of the pack to help us, especially since they would consider the vulture vampire dudes an even greater threat than you would. The Denalis will get here momentarily, and then we'll all travel back there. Jake will go get his pack, and we will confront and destroy those vampires."

Jenny raised her eyebrow at me and I realized I had been giving her a pep talk. Oopsie. I heard a very strong, invasive, mental voice from above us and groaned. It was a miracle that everyone wasn't hearing it. I looked up, as did Jenny. There was an eagle circling us. "Oh great," I muttered, "another were-bird."

Jenny picked up a small rock and launched it at the bird, interrupting its rather perverted thoughts and breaking its spine. The dead were-bird plummeted fifty feet to the ground, where Emmett caught sit of it. "Awesome. Lunch!"

Jenny's and my expressions were identical - full of both horror and disgust. I did not hesitate in burying that bird deep under the soil, where Emmett would not have the time to dig it up. Edward and the Denalis found us like that, and we reconvened for the last of our instructions.

Jenny looked each vampire in the eye. "Okay, everyone but Allyson and Jacob is going to meet at the house. Ally and Jacob will meet us at the meadow with his pack. Now, let's get going."

The vampires stood, and Brie grabbed Bella. I took Jake by the hand, and we resurfaced moments later just south of the area Brie had told me was the meadow. I embraced Jacob, clinging to him as tears sprung into my eyes. "Jacob." I whispered.

Jake hugged me tightly. "It'll be okay, Ally. Go meet them at the house. I'll see you in a bit." I decided to follow his directions, arriving at the Cullen's house a little after the vampires did. Brie and Alice came up to me immediately, conspiratorial looks on their faces. I saw Jenny off to the side, talking to another female vampire.

"Ally, we need your help locking Bella in the bathroom." Brie had even taken some black stuff and smeared lines under her eyes.

"Why?" I was flabbergasted. What tomfoolery were these two up to?

Brie rolled her eyes an unnecessary three hundred and seventy-eight degrees. "Bella is a normal human. If she is loose, she will find some way to the meadow and get herself killed. Now, darling, you are the most qualified here to activate and stick the locking mechanism."

That's how I got roped into shoving poor Bella in a windowless bathroom with the top lined with pink bunnies. I thought those disgustingly cute top of the wall things only came in rubber ducky format. I locked the door so that only a key or a vampire could open it and left while the vampires went over their last battle plans.

I resurfaced exactly where I had before, when I had dropped Jacob off. I nervously brushed some imaginary dirt off of my jeans and stalked out into the meadow. As soon as I was in plain sight, I took a deep breath and tried to sound authoritative. My words came out sounding more angry than regal. "What are you doing in my territory?"

There were a few snickers. A rather fragile-looking one (I think it was the skin) smiled tenderly and said, "Human, I believe you are mistaken."

Rage flowed through me, and I straightened to my full stature. "I am Allyson Marie Hunsacher, Guardian of the Pacific Northwest. If your dealings here are not peaceful, there will be consequences."

Suddenly, Brie was at my side. She looked and sounded far more regal than I. "You were lucky your numbers grew so quickly and at such an inconvenient time in magical history. The European Guardians were busy elsewhere, or your existence founded in mass-murder would have been swiftly cut off. Only now are there Guardians capable of ridding the world of your presence." Brie smiled up at me and patted me on the arm before disappearing. She reappeared a moment later with Esme, who had been in the ring of enemies, clinging to her arm.

The Cullens had been arriving throughout both our speeches, but the last one got there just in time to see Brie recapture Esme. Carlisle moved to the front, and he began working out a peaceful solution with the vulture coven. I smiled. If it weren't for silly vampire etiquette, we could threaten them with elimination and they would be mutable enough to understand that they were no longer the most powerful coven. But, no, vampires are silly and egotistical and absolutely blind. Instead, the Volturri (Hey, I finally remembered their name! Yay me!) had told Carlisle that they would take violent action unless Jenny, Alice, and Edward joined them. I almost laughed.

The werewolves came in behind us just then. I took a shaky breath, worried for Jake. The Volturri were crouched, ready for battle. It began when the spokesperson leaped at Carlisle. In the ensuing chaos, Brie threw herself in front of a female vampire and stared her down. The vampire cringed in pain, and Jenny went up and started ripping her to pieces. That's when I lost sight of Brie. Another male vampire furrowed his brow in front of me, trying to use his power. I stomped my foot, sending a very large, very hard rock flying at the mosquito man. Thankfully, I calculated my physics right and it creamed the vampire.

Fifteen minutes later, I was exhausted, ravenous, nauseous, and very happy to see that a couple of the vampires were surrendering. The last of the leaders had been killed. Everyone was covered in mud, and the whole meadow was destroyed. We dispatched the rest of the resistant vampires, and I tromped on over to Jennifer, who looked nearly as ill as I felt. I had barely breathed out, "What's wrong?" when there was a scream from the other side of the meadow. I will never forget what I saw.

Jake, in his wolf form, was in a tangled mass with a vampire that had supposedly surrendered. Edward pulled the vampire away and threw it, in pieces, onto the bonfire we had created. I couldn't run fast enough. I was instantly at my beloved's side as he morphed, losing control from the pain, back to a human. Jacob's leg was bent awkwardly in two places, and half of his chest was collapsed. I could tell from his irregular breathing that a rib had punctured one of his lungs, if not both. Carlisle performed a more detailed analysis of Jacob's condition, but the results were the same. It would require a miracle for him to survive.

Tears filled my eyes and I felt them drip down my face and splatter on my arms. Everyone was staring. I balled my hands into fists and screamed to the skies, to God. He couldn't take Jake from me now, when I had only just gotten him. My scream faded into sobs, and everything went black.


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: One word. School. I know this chappy is short.  
**_

I woke up on the Cullen's couch with Jake half draped across my chest. He was too tall to curl up next to the couch waiting for me, and he wasn't the type to just hold my hand passively while sitting on a chair. I had been washed and changed into clean clothes, as had Jacob. Brie was sitting on the love seat opposite me. "I suggest eating," she stated. "You used a lot of magic out there, and there are consequences for not replenishing that energy. There's a water bottle full of spice tea in the fridge. Take it" I nodded, exhausted. Brie stood up and left us, going up the stairs.

"You okay?" I whispered to Jake

"Ally, I'm not sure what you did, but I'm fine. I'm great. You've been out for about an hour. Alice and Brie changed your clothes."

I nodded, a headache beginning to threaten. "Would you help me up?" Jake didn't even allow me to put a foot on the ground. He carried me into the kitchen and set me down on a bar stool, saying that he would be right back. The second Jacob was out of sight Jenny was by my side.

"Ally, what you did out there was amazing. You healed Jacob, every member of his pack, Brie, and restored that meadow to perfect order. Every little bit of deceased vampire was gone. What was mud and stone guts became emerald green grass again."

"Jacob almost died."

Jenny looked down at the floor. "I don't know what I would do if Scott died."

I shook my head, "At least you could change him. I would just have to hope that we end up in the same kind of afterlife."

Brie walked in, and started rubbing circles on my back. "Allyson, the only other living Earth Magus to do that was a Guardian called Odette. Odette is the most powerful Earth Magus alive. Supposing you keep your body properly fueled, you could rescue people from the brink of death on a regular basis. There's just the whole flashy and cheating death problems."

Jenny looked a little fearful, but calmed down. "We're having a party. Will you stay, Ally?"

I shook my head emphatically. "It's a ways back to Seattle, and I have class in the morning. Do you think they would mind if I stole a jar of Bella's Nutella?"

Jenny laughed. "Take it." I nodded my thanks and almost fell over the moment I stood up. Fortunately, Jacob had just run into the kitchen. I grabbed the Nutella jar and Brie's tea and Jake carried me out to the car as we bid the vampires farewell.

Before I was set in the car, I yelled, "Jenny, you better be sending me emails!"

I ate the jar of chocolate and hazelnut heaven, and slept for the next hour. When I woke again, it was seven at night and I had a piercing headache. You remember that myth where Zeus had his head split open and Athena came out? It paled in comparison to my headache. My stomach was all gurgly, trying to decide whether it was sick or ravenous. My back hurt, my legs hurt, and my eyes felt like they had been pasted shut. I downed the tea Brie had given me, and almost spit it out. It tasted all right, like chamomile, cinnamon, and cloves, but it had so much sugar in it that it felt more like syrup on my tongue than tea. I finished the bottle, and my headache began to lessen. Jacob rested his hand on my knee, squeezing it gently. "Baby, we're stopping at the next drive through, okay?"

I nodded emphatically. My stomach had decided on ravenous, and if food helped my headache, I would be most pleased. Thankfully, the next drive through was a Wendy's, not a McDonalds. I pulled out my wallet to pay for it, and found four hundred dollar bills in there besides what I had expected, and with them was a note in perfect calligraphy.

_Thank you for helping us with the Volturri. I cannot wait for you guys to move into the brick house. You'll make wonderful neighbors!_

_Alice_

Hiding the note from Jacob, I quickly handed him the money for our dinner. I could easily pretend the money had appeared out of nowhere, like it had Friday. From what I could tell, Jake wasn't exactly happy about the vampires. Receiving money from them probably wouldn't make him happy either. But, even if they did have silly etiquette, I liked these vampires. Next to Alice's note was another in Jenny's much less perfect handwriting.

_I'm moving to Seattle. I'm sorry for not telling you in person, but the Cullens don't know yet. I need to be near Scott._

I sighed. I had figured something like this would happen. I just thought Jenny would be alive to do it. I folded the note and put back gently just in time to receive the fast food bags from Jacob. He thanked the teen at the window, and we continued our drive back to Seattle on full stomachs. Unfortunately, though the food got my headache down to a manageable level, my headache did not go away. Jake had this smile on his face that I had never seen before, and I could not help but wonder what it meant. It was so serene. I covered the hand he had placed on my knee with my own, and was graced with that smile a few fleeting moments before Jacob returned his attention to the road.

When we got home, we were barely able to even collapse onto the bed. I took the time to shimmy out of the dress Alice had put on me after the battle, knowing very well that it was probably designer. Jake just collapsed onto the bed, shaking it and the entire floor. I was asleep before I could even pull up the covers.

I woke up three hours earlier than my alarm was set to go off that morning. A lance of pain shot through my abdomen, and I balled my hands up into fists. Being careful not to disturb Jacob, I turned the alarm off and stumbled to the bathroom. Another wave of pain came before I could reach my painkillers. My knuckles turned white on the bathroom counter as I waited for it to pass. When it did, I was left dizzy. I sat down on the floor, not wanting to pass out and hit my head. Finally, the dizziness left. I took my painkillers and turned on the shower to an almost scalding temperature.

When I was fully relaxed, I got out of the shower and toweled myself off, heading back into the bedroom. I felt something break beneath my bare foot, and bent over to observe what appeared to be a glass bead. At the same time, I heard a knock on the door. Confused, I re-secured the towel and went to the door. Looking through the peephole, I saw Kathy. I opened the door for her, and she burst through.

"Are you alright? I got wind of someone selling a pre-made spell." She seemed incredibly worried.

"Kathy, I'm fine. What kind of spell?"

"Paralyzing depression. They're usually glass-like beads filled with a dust or liquid."

I looked down at the broken glass bead in my hand, realizing what it was. I held it up to Kathy, letting her see it. "I broke it and nothing's happened to me yet."

Strangely enough, Kathy sniffed the bead. "They used a dust. Maybe it's because you're a High Earth Magus. Or maybe they sold a decoy," she told me.

I shook my head. "Or maybe it's because I've been wearing shields for the last twenty-four hours. Kathy, you could have called instead."

Kathy stiffened. "Well, then. I'll see you at school. Say hello to Jacob for me." Kathy left, closing the door behind her. I banished the glass bead, even more confused than I had been five minutes earlier. I decided to leave it be and make a nice, big breakfast as soon as I got dressed.

Jacob gave me a look just as confused when I pounced upon him half an hour later. It was far too early by his standards, I knew, but I did not want to eat alone. After a moment, he gave me the same smile he had last night, making my heart do acrobatics. For a moment I was content to let breakfast cool, and just stay there with my love, but it was a short moment. Our stomachs growled simultaneously. We both laughed, and I dragged my one true love out to the dining area for breakfast.


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N: You can blame driver's ed and camping, and school. In better news, I passed my driver's test. YAY!!!! I promise, only one more chapter.**_

Jacob was incessantly curious at the breakfast table. It was as if he had known I had needed calm and quiet yesterday, and had held all his questions in. Though he had acted reserved (and taken naps) around the vampires, he was now bursting at the seams with questions. It was so adorable that I just wanted to kiss him. Which I did: after breakfast. I ended up doing a lot of explaining in the car. I was about to open the car door at school when his large hand was suddenly on my upper thigh. In a low voice, he whispered. "Allyson, would you please . . ." For a moment, it seemed as if he'd gotten lost in figuring out what words to use. "Please be careful, my freaky little stalker babe."

I smiled, remembering just a few weeks ago when I would doodle Jacob in my notebook. My hand went over his. "I will be." Deep in my heart, I knew I had to be, especially since the spell bead this morning. Again, I whispered. "I will be. I vow that to you." A spell of protection held within my mind, I brushed my lips across Jacob's. "You be safe, too." I smiled as the shield I'd been thinking of settled invisibly into place around my beloved. His other hand went to my chin, holding my head close enough for a sounder kiss before we entered the world.

I didn't see Kathy at the table, and felt a little sad that I'd alienated her this morning, but I easily shook that feeling. It was Kathy's fault for getting upset with me when I was sleep deprived. She should know by now how I reacted to things like that. As it turned out, I had been wrong about the reason for her abruptness. Kathy showed up a little late, and felt a little funky. I realized why when she sat down. She had done magic today. Being a hedge witch, she almost never did magic. I tried not to let my jaw drop too far. "Kathy?"

Kathy gingerly lowered herself into her seat, looking very tired. "I activated my shields at home, honey. That's all."

I frowned. "I'm pretty sure that's not necessary, Kathy. They're after me, not you."

Kathy smiled. "Shields are good for more than just mystical creatures, darling." I frowned. The last time she had been like this, she had been evading a real stalker.

I turned, making sure Jake was gone. "Kathy, I need to confront the crows. They're wrong, and they're interfering."

Kathy sighed and shook her head. "I knew you would have to do something about them. Do you remember that reading I gave you a few weeks ago?" Kathy barely waited for my nod. "You and Jacob are going to get married, a blind person could see that. I was wrong about summer, but it'll be sooner than you think. Keep that. Cherish that. And for goodness sake, don't let a pathetic shape-shifting bird ruin that for you."

I straightened up, confused. "Kathy, you know I can tell when you speak from experience."

"Yeah, well, a vampire ruined my first marriage. It's not the kind of thing I like to talk about."

From there until Math, my day was a blur. I didn't pay much attention to English or Biology, instead focusing on my Math homework that hadn't gotten done that weekend. Math seemed to click in a way that it hadn't since I learned how to multiply decimals, but it was still torture. When I finally got to Math class, Claire refused to even look at me. I felt miserable.

Sitting next to a frightened werecrow girl for an hour, knowing that she faced horrid punishment for any association with me brought a realization to my mind. I was the Guardian. Though I had already decided to confront the werecrows, I now remembered that I had more than enough authority to do so. I was no longer just an attacked neighbor. On our way out of class, I grasped Claire's arm and whispered in her ear. "If I glower at you, it doesn't mean anything." Claire nodded at me, seriousness stamped across her delicate features.

We walked out of the classroom, and my stride slipped into what could easily be considered a strut. As I had come to expect, Claire's father was waiting for her down the hall. I quickened my walk and reached him in a matter of moments. "You are going to tell your chieftain that this harassment stops now!"

The man cracked an infuriating smile. Once Claire had reached him, her gaze upon her shoes, he whispered just loud enough for the three of us to hear. "The likes of you can't stop us."

My mouth dropped open. I had just spent my Sunday assisting in the termination of an entire vampire coven, and a mere shape-shifter was telling me that I couldn't stop him. A primal, beast-like anger woke within me. Who did this man think he was? "We'll see." I spat out, consumed by my fury. "Either way, know now that there is no way, dark or light, that will convince me to join your people."

I was storming to the cafeteria when my phone buzzed. It was a text from Jacob, saying he was out doing man stuff.I smiled. I had more homework time then, which was great if I was going to be kicking some werecrow ass tomorrow. I happily returned home, ready to do some serious math. Jacob came home while I was struggling to write a conclusion to and English paper. I hate English classes because they're so subjective. If the professor did not like my premise, they could automatically assign me a failing grade for no better reason.

Jacob came over and rested his hands on my shoulders. "How is the homework going?"

I swiveled around and pulled Jacobs head down for a proper kiss before I replied. "Wonderfully. What about your 'man stuff''?"

That same smile that still made my insides melt came to his face. "It went well."

"Mmm. Tell me more." I expected Jake to tell me about his afternoon, maybe talk about his friends from class or maybe even a manly shopping trip. I nearly had a heart attack when he knelt on one knee and pulled out a jewelry box. I had told my mother that I would marry him if he asked, but I hadn't expected that day to come so soon. I had spoken the truth, though, and I would stick to it.

Then Jacob opened the box and I really did stop breathing for a few seconds. My design . . . I'd never truly been able to hope that I would get it. I thought maybe for an anniversary. I was so caught up, I barely heard Jacob say the words. I looked up at him, my eyes wide. "Yes. Yes, I will."


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N: I'm so glad to have finished. There's just the (already written) epilogue left. I must admit that I had a great deal of difficulty finishing this, as my focus and inspiration has moved onto my next project.  
**_

As much as she tried, Allyson could not stop sneaking looks at the ring on her finger. Every once in a while, she would look back up and Jacob would be smiling, having caught her looking at it.

"I take it you like your ring." Jacob whispered later, holding me securely around the waist. I nodded, a giddy smile coming to my face. "Well, maybe you can get up the heart to take it off so we can go to bed."

My eyes widened. Going to bed with Jacob right now sounded amazing. "You can go wait for me in the bedroom. I'll only be a moment."

As Jacob had sad, it was really hard taking the ring off, even if it was so that I wouldn't lose it in the sheets.

Despite our late-night activities, I had difficulty sleeping long. It was a combination of excitement and apprehension. Now that Jake had given me a ring, it was even more important to get rid of the were-crows. I contented myself with snuggling close to Jacob for the few hours until he woke up. I needed the comfort of his warmth.

Jacob and I were dressing in the bathroom when I looked at the counter and saw my jewelry box, with my ring. "Jacob, after class we need to go deal with those bastards, or we'll never have peace."

Jacob sighed. "You're right. We'll go."

The apprehension stayed, heightening throughout the day until I met Jacob in the cafeteria. He took one look at me and pulled me into his arms. "Ally, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. Let's go. Let's go now."

A dark look came across Jacob's face. "Are you sure we can't wait until you're calmer?"

I shook my head. "No. This needs to be done, and now. Especially now that I am completely, thoroughly yours in every way." I smiled. "I love you, and I love that you're worried, and I love that you got me my dream ring. I want to be able to love you without a stupid werecrow always trying to kill one or the other of us."

Jacob frowned. "I love you, and I'm not going to let some bird take that away." He stood, picking up both of our backpacks. "I'm driving."

The car ride was quiet, except for when I told Jacob to turn. We were both angry, but not with each other. I would be happy when this was over. Then I could plan my wedding. After, of course, I got over the hurdle of telling my family. "We're here." We had gone south, and were currently in front of a very large house that looked like it was on a couple acres of property. I watched out the window while Jacob parked. I saw Claire run inside the front door.

Jacob and I both got out, striding with confidence to the garden path. It led through some pretty dense trees up to the porch. Nervous, I held my hand out to Jake. I think he could sense how I felt, because he took my hand and squeezed it. I knocked on the door, and a small child showed us to a sitting room. Thankfully, because we had come in the middle of the day, there was almost no one there. As far as I could tell, it was Claire's family, an old aunt, and the Chieftain. They had gathered while Jacob and I walked to the door.

We were all sitting, and I wondered why it seemed so civil. This was not how I remembered them acting. What did they think we were here to do? I sighed, breaking the silence. "Your actions have been causing us difficulty, and we have come to ask you to stop." We waited. The werecrows just sat there smiling, and it began to aggravate me. "Look, you really have to stop."

The chieftain stood, gesturing for Claire's father to do the same. "Come to the back. There is no need to upset everyone while we talk about this." Jacob and I followed him warily, knowing that this could very well be a trap.

I didn't think it was a trap. I had been paying attention to Claire. The chieftain's only true supporter was her father, and he did not want to risk his clan joining us if it came to a fight. I let a small smile grace my features. This meant that he was not in an area of strength.

We were led out to the yard. Once the glass door has been closed, the chieftain turned to us. "You do realize that we will not stop."

I could not help but laugh. "Yeah, you will. You know why? Because if you decide not to, I will forcefully make it end." I paused, letting that sink in. "I may be a nice girl, but I have no problem ridding myself of you."

Claire's father shifted, and I raised a warning finger. "Don't touch me. I can do far worse than I could last time we fought."

The look on the chieftain's face said that he had not thought this through. He was staring at me, probably thinking of the rumors of what had happened in Forks. The chieftain cocked his head. "Geoffrey, I think it's time I relinquish my position to your son. I care more for the safety of this clan than for the benefits I thought would come of this."

Claire father began to object, but the chieftain snapped at him. "She's a Guardian now, Geoffrey. Anything we do against her will be met with the full fury of magical law. It will only lead to annihilation." The chieftain looked over at Jake and I. "We won't bother you any more."

Jake and I were on our way home when I groaned. "Why couldn't we have done that weeks ago?"

Jake laughed. "Because you hadn't helped kill a bunch of moldy old vampires." He turned to look at me briefly. "But now that that's over, you wanna go to dinner?"

I smiled, and laughed. "Oh, Jacob. That sounds lovely."


	23. Epilogue

I rubbed my engorged stomach. I had to move the seat back as far as possible to fit, and when I drove it touched the steering wheel. Jake wouldn't let me drive to work anymore. Well, I guess that was the problem with being pregnant. I could feel the little girl if I closed my eyes and searched with my magic. It was really cool.

I blew some hair out of my eyes as Jake pulled onto the cliff. Contrary to his belief, I could've climbed up from Billy's house. But, then again, Jake listened to me like I was a ranting, raving, hormonal woman. I jumped out far more nimbly than any pregnant woman should be able to, and grabbed the coolers from the trunk. Jacob protested. "Can I carry . . ."

"No." I said forcefully. Even after two years of having them, I still enjoyed my muscles. That enjoyment applied to carrying two fifty-pound coolers while I was pregnant. Unfortunately, Jake was still listening like a two-year-old and stole the heavier one from my arms. That may or may not have had anything to do with the doctor's orders. The rest of the werewolves were waiting, ready to start the bonfire. I smiled and set the coolers down a safe distance away. "Okay, here's your hotdogs, and your soda." I called. Most of the werewolves and their mates were there already, but that was to be expected when Jake and I drove from Forks. I plopped down on the blanket Jake had set out for me and closed my eyes.

In the last year, we had moved to Forks and become friends with Cullens. The second Jenny was gone, Edward had rekindled his flame for Bella and they had gotten married that August. The three months following had been interesting. Bella had gotten pregnant, and Carlisle had wanted me there a lot because of my magic. Jacob had to split off from the main pack and become an Alpha in his own right. That's my Jacob. The interesting thing is that Seth, whom is part of Jacob's smaller pack, imprinted on little Renesme. Renesme was also here today, sitting across from us in Seth's lap. She already looked like she was five.

I sensed someone coming. "Don't you dare touch my belly," I snapped at the person who had come over to marvel at the hugely pregnant lady. I opened an eye, and saw it was one of the newer girls. "Oh, hi. Sit down. Sorry." I laughed. "I'm a monster. Rarr." I curled my fingertips. I opened my other eye and searched the area for Jake. "Where did Jake go? It's cold."

The girl laughed. "They are nice and warm, aren't they? Your Jacob is over there, with my Embry." She waved and both of them started to walk over. "My name is Adeline."

Embry sat down on the blanket next to Adeline. Jacob came and sat behind me, pulling me into his lap to support my back. Embry rested his arm around Adeline, and grinned at me. "So, Ally, how's the teaching job?"

I entwined my hands with Jake's, cackling. "It's great. I get to teach biology, mostly, but I have fourth-period Health. It was hella fun to walk in and tell the girls, 'If you're stupid, you will look like this.' I don't think any of them could talk that first day for staring at little miss Black here. And then they all wanted to touch my belly, see if she would kick for them." At this Jake growled, hugging me protectively. "I ended up snapping that the only person _I_ let touch my belly is Jake here, and he is scarier than I am. What with me also living in that house with all the silly urban legends about it, they scattered."

Adeline giggled. "And how's the pregnancy coming?"

I snorted. "Just great. You know, Jacob mooed at her this morning and she tried to jump to high heaven. I still have a sore rib or two."

"I was just . . ." Jacob started, worried. That morning he had been beside himself, tears in his eyes even after I stopped whimpering in pain.

"I know, I know. You were just trying to teach her new sounds. Why do you think I always have music playing in the house? She'll come out with a good taste in both music and food. And she can recognize her mommy's voice." My hand slid down to my belly. "Can't you darling?" There was a small kick in response, not quite enough to hurt. "You know, according to my research, she'll be a witch-were."

Embry's eyes bulged out. "You mean we'll have a mini-you as part of the pack?"

My eyes narrowed, and I felt Jacob's grip tighten. "Watch your tone. If you weren't a werewolf, I could beat you black and blue. But, noooo. You have to have mystical healing powers, and super strength. You see those thighs? Those aren't baby fat, those are muscle." I flexed my left arm, my muscles showing clearly through my sleeve. "Just 'cause I can't see my feet doesn't mean I can't use them to knock you flat."

After my outburst, Jacob and Embry exchanged a knowing look. It was that, 'She's a hormonal pregnant woman' look. Embry smiled devilishly. "You're one tough bitch." He told me.

"Hell ya. Now where are my hotdogs?" I curled my fingers around my one true love's wrist. If there was one thing in this world I would never give up, it was these last two years with my Jacob. And to think, it had started with one of _those_ days.


	24. Extra 1: Jacob's Story

_**A/N: Just a few chapters from Jake's POV, rather shortly. Have funzies!**_

Jake's POV:

Chapter 1:

I saw her first, bent over the trunk of an old car off the side of the road. I almost could not believe my eyes. When she saw me her eyes widened, and her first comment was, "This is hell." That's not how I saw it. I had just imprinted, and she was wonderful.

Chapter 2 & 3:

I did realize I was stalking Allyson when I found out her schedule. I had promised to not become an Edward. I guess you just can't keep those kinds of promises when you're deeply in love. I had to smile when she accidentally ran into me, but it was quickly replaced with a sense of dread as I realized she had been hurt. I had hurt my precious Allyson, though she did brush it off. She was still limping two hours later. I wanted to carry her, fix it, anything.

Chapter 5:

Allyson sketches me. I don't know how long she's been doing it, but when I found out she blushed. My God, she's beautiful when she blushes. I saw something slip today. It's as if she is hiding something, some feeling she doesn't want me to see.

Chapter 7:

I'm not sure if Allyson is all right. She fell asleep while we were walking. However, I was able to hold her all night. It felt good, no; it felt _right_ to have her there. When she woke again, she was almost purring. No normal human would have been able to tell, but I could. Allyson liked being held.

Chapter 10-12:

Allyson was exuding pheromones. Once again, most people would not have been able to tell, but I am a werewolf. She ran from me. I followed. Why does she run? What is she scared of? In the morning, she couldn't think right. It was as if, by doing what we had, her whole set of priorities had been messed up. I loved the smile that lit up her face, the laughter that rang like bells. She was beautiful. The consequences of our actions were not. It seems as if I have some competition. Those birds won't ever take my Ally from me.

Chapter 15:

Allyson had her mother cut her hair. It's just so . . . hot. The way it looks on her transcends words. Her mother confronted her in the kitchen. Due to my wolf-like senses, I was able to hear the conversation. All I remember were Allyson's words, " If he asked me to marry him, I wouldn't say no." I smiled. Those eleven words were the loveliest I had ever heard. In fact, I decided to take her up on that offer. Leaning down to her brother, Lewis, I asked him quietly if he knew what stones Allyson liked. The answer was clear. Allyson had a secret fake book that she kept on her bookshelf, and it contained a ring design as well as the rocks to go in it. All right then, I could take that to a goldsmith. I was very careful about sneaking it out of the house, and in the end I thought Allyson might catch on, but we had something more important to do.

Chapters 19 & 20:

I could barely see through the pain. It was nearly intolerable. But it was worse to see my beloved Allyson kneeling over me with tears in her eyes. Her pain magnified my own. I just wanted her to be happy. Allyson rocked back on her heels with her eyes closed and her hands curled into fists. I was leaving her alone to deal with those birds. I was leaving her defenseless. She screamed, letting out a feral sound that shook my soul. In that moment, I saw more than just my beautiful, strong Allyson. I saw the girl she hid from everyone. I saw her insecurities, her pain, her confusion, and I just wanted it to stop. I wanted my wonderful mate who wasn't scared of anything back. I wanted to sit up and give my gorgeous Allyson a hug. But I could barely keep my eyes open, my lungs breathing. Her animal-like scream faded into much more human sobs, and she began rocking. A light so bright as to even leave the bloodsuckers dazed exploded from her, emanating to the farthest points of the meadow. When I could see again, the pain was gone. My heart leapt to my throat as Allyson swayed, falling onto me. She was unconscious. It only took Carlisle a moment to explain she was completely fine. Holding Allyson's limp figure in my hands, and feeling each heartbeat and breath still did not reassure me. Our roles had suddenly been reversed, and try as they might, the bloodsuckers could not convince me to relinquish my love to their care.

When Allyson had awoken, she had been weak, weaker than I had ever before seen her. She could not even stand on her own. That night in bed, she clung to me as never before, as though I might slip away in the middle of the night. I would never do that, not to my beautiful Ally.


	25. Extra 2: Wedding Planner

_**A/N: HopelessSoul wrote a sequel. The vampire in her sequel just so happens to fit perfectly with a certain babysitter from Allyson's past (That is a vampire), thus this little extra.**_

I tucked my cell under my chin as I pulled out the keys to unlock the house. I had left Jake with his dad to come inspect the house. Inspect the house was just code for plan the wedding, though. Alice had bribed her way into being my wedding planner, and Jake rather didn't like it when she was around. Not to mention that Jenny had bullied her way into being the caterer. They weren't supposed to be here for a good hour, but I had come to realize that arriving early and calling them expedited the process. Otherwise, Jenny would never arrive.

I opened the door easily and moved into the dining room, closing and locking the door behind me. Finally, Jenny picked up the phone with a weary "Hello?"

I smiled, relieved. "Hey, Jenny. What time do you think you'll be over to discuss the menu?" I paused, listening. "What do you mean you won't be able to cater my wedding? I'm sure you can plan around something that's eight months from now. Is that Alice in the background?" Jenny rambled on about the need to be able to predict problems. I knew my expression was getting stormier by the second. "Jennifer, are you trying to tell me that she won't be able to plan my wedding either?"

I heard a scuffle over the phone, and Alice screamed into the receiver, "Don't listen to her. I can still plan it!"

There was another power play and Jenny regained the phone. "I'm sorry Ally. Something came up, and I don't know when we can come back."

I pulled a blue manila folder out of my purse and opened it. "Would this have anything to do with you missing our double date? Or the file in my hand with your name mentioned a dozen times just in the synopsis page?" Jenny was speechless. "I thought so. I haven't read past the part where you turned Scott, but you know you should come to me with problems like this, right? I explained this to you."

A pair of cold hands slipped over my mouth and around my waist. The phone slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor as I froze. How could a vampire sneak in without my notice?

A soft whisper next to my ear made me shudder. "Hello, my little Allyson. I am so very glad I waited the extra fifteen years." My eyes widened even more. That was Christopher's voice. No wonder he had freaked me out when I was little. "Oh, yes. You would not remember, but when you were four you exhibited truly remarkable healing abilities, little Allyson. I wanted them, you, so badly, but an advisor of mine said I should wait, darling. She told me to hide your abilities from you and come back later. When you met that _Hexenwulfen_, I could neither come get you, nor continue to sequester your magic. I was most disappointed, until you led me to another specimen of interest." My eyes flitted down to phone.

Christopher laughed. "Yes, I am talking about your friend Jennifer. She already knows me, do you not darling?" He directed his last comment at the phone. Judging from the outburst of noise from it, Jenny had heard him. Christopher forcefully turned me around, showing me a number of magical creatures, all under his control. "Welcome to my menagerie, Allyson."


End file.
